14 Ways to Learn the Secret to Happiness

As you read and begin to use these strategies in your daily life, I challenge you not to measure your progress too quickly or too harshly. Too often we measure ourselves from where we think we should be to where we actually are right now. This will always result in a negative number. This type of measurement has a way of setting us for failure because if we don’t reach the desired goal, we may lose our confidence and sometimes our passion and energy.

Instead, measure yourself from where you have been to where you are now. This is the most productive unit of measure and it will always be a positive number. Be patient with yourself and measure you happiness this same way.

For your convenience, listed below are all 14 strategies as well as brief summary for each one. I encourage you to print these or copy them and refer to them often. Over time, these strategies will become positive and life-changing habits that will begin to bring more happiness, joy and peace into your life. Enjoy.

1st Way: Notice What’s Right

Some of us see the glass as being half-full, while others see the glass as half-empty. This expression goes straight to the heart of the power of positive thinking and taking the time to Notice What’s Right.

2nd Way: Be Grateful

How many times do you say the words “thank you,” in a day? How many times do you hear these same words? If you are doing the first thing, saying the “thank yous”, the latter will naturally take care of itself. Learn to Be Grateful every day and open yourself up to receive an abundance of joy and happiness.

3rd Way: Remember the Kid You Were

Do you remember how to play? I’m not referring to playing a round of golf or a set of tennis. I’m talking playing like you did when you were a child – a game of tag; leap frog, or street baseball when the bat is a broken broom handle and the bases are the parked cars. One way to find or maintain your happiness is to Remember the Kid You Were and play!

4th Way: Be Kind

There is no question that by merely watching acts of kindness creates a significant elevation in our moods and increases the desire for us to perform good deeds as well. Kindness is indeed contagious and when we make a commitment to Be Kind to ourselves and to others we can experience new heights of joy, happiness and enthusiasm for our lives.

5th Way: Spend Time with Your Friends

Although an abundant social and romantic life does not itself guarantee joy, it does have a huge impact on our happiness. Learn to Spend Time with Your Friends and make the friendships a priority in your life.

6th Way: Savor Every Moment

To be in the moment is to live in the moment. Too often we are thinking ahead or looking ahead to the next event or circumstance in our lives, not appreciating the “here and now.” When we Savor Every Moment, we are savoring the happiness in our lives.

7th Way: Rest

Sometimes we need the time to unwind, decompress, or to put it simply, just “to chill.” Life comes at all of us hard and fast. Time, as do the days on the calendar, keeps going forward at its own natural pace, which is not always the pace we would choose. Fatigue, stress and exhaustion may begin to settle in on us faster than we may think, or notice. The best remedy for this is indeed Rest.

8th Way: Put on a Happy Face

Sometimes we have to fake it until we make it. I’m not suggesting that we not be honest, real or authentic, but I’m suggesting, sometimes, we just need to Put on a Happy Face and keep moving forward. Researchers claim that smiling and looking like we are happy will indeed make us happier. Studies further show that if we act like we are happy then we can experience greater joy and happiness in our lives.

9th Way: Move!

The expression a “runner’s high” does not infer an addiction, but a feeling or a state of mind - a state of euphoria. There is no question exercise, or any physical exertion, elevates your mood and enhances a more positive attitude as well as fosters better personal self-esteem and confidence. Indeed, one way to increase your happiness is to Move!

10th Way: Pursue Your Goals

The absence of goals in our lives, or more specifically avoiding to pursue our goals, makes us feel like we are stuck and ineffective. The pursuit of goals in our personal lives, with our relationships, or at work, with our careers, is the difference between having a mediocre life or a life full of passion and enthusiasm. Pursue Your Goals and watch your happiness soar.

11th Way: Finding Your Calling

Some find meaning in religion or spirituality while others find purpose in their work or relationships. Finding Your Calling may be much more than accomplishing one simple strategy for increasing your happiness, but having a sense of purpose – of feeling like you are here for a reason – can perhaps bring the greatest joy of all.

12th Way: Get into the Flow

Flow is the form of joy, excitement and happiness that occurs when we are so absorbed in an activity we love that we can loose ourselves and time seems to stand still. What creates flow is unique to each one of us. To find and sustain true happiness in our lives, we must get off the sidelines and Get into the Flow.

13th Way: Play to Your Strengths

One way to achieve flow is by understanding and identifying our strengths and core values, and then begin to use these every day. Once we aware of our strengths and we begin to Play to Your Strengths we can better incorporate them in all aspects of our lives.

14th Way: Don't Overdo It

Know when to say when. What gives you joy and happiness the first time may not work the second time. Too much of a good thing may begin not to feel as good if the “thing” becomes more of a routine, or an expectation. Set healthy and reasonable boundaries for yourself and Don’t Overdo It.