What I learned on my journey to happiness

Happiness is important to everyone. If you ask any person on the street what their goals are, odds are one of those goals is to be happy. Sometimes it’s easier said than done. However, there are a few things we can do in our daily life to live an overall happier life!

My journey to a happier life

When I was in high school, there was a period of time where my attitude towards life and the future wasn’t doing so well and overall, I was feeling pretty down. I felt like I didn’t have a whole lot to look forward to and my days felt kind of gray, but somewhere along the line I started to feel better as a result of things I did every day. I tried to find exactly what made me feel good and then chased that feeling, actively bringing more happiness into my life. Here are some things I learned to do as much as possible and some tips I have that I know helped me find more happiness.

Get outside

There’s a reason sunshine is a metaphor for love and happiness, and that’s because it truly induces feelings of bliss. When I wasn’t feeling super positive and lacking a lot of pleasure and happiness in my daily life, I spent a lot of time indoors and by myself, just listening to music and being bored all the time. However, I started romanticizing the idea of adventure and it really brought me outside, and thus out of my mind. I started chasing beautiful nature scenes and trying to witness as many sunrises and sunsets as possible, and I began to really appreciate the power of the outdoors on mood. The sensation of sun on your skin can bring you back to the ground and provide some perspective towards your problems. When you immerse yourself in the natural world, it’s easy to remember there are bigger things to life than the stresses of school, work, and small relationship problems. Of course, not everything can be relieved with a little sunshine and beautiful nature, but as far as small stresses go, take yourself outside and your mind will be able to soar outside the walls of your stresses! Hiking is a great way to exercise and see beautiful sights at the same time. Sometimes I love to just find a good field and lay down in it, or pass time between classes by lounging under a big shady tree! Whenever I’m exposed to sunlight and plants and fresh air, my creativity seems to reach new heights, my problems shrink in comparison, and I feel lighter and happier immediately. Tuning yourself into the Earth is a great way to get out from inside your head and enjoy your life. When I started getting outside every day and allowing myself to appreciate the beauty of the world around me, a lot of color began to leak back into my life.

Take care of yourself

This includes a lot of things that are different to each person. The goal here is to make sure you are taking time to put yourself first and also putting the effort into being a productive human. In my less happy days, there’d be days at a time where I wouldn’t get a good nights sleep or a fulfilling meal because I just didn’t care about my own well-being. I didn’t realize that this was standing in the way of me feeling at my best. Some things I’ve learned to do since then that have helped me get into a good mindset begin with the morning, right when you pull yourself out of bed.

Getting a good start on your day enables you to avoid crankiness and sluggishness. Wake up early enough so that you don’t have to rush to get ready and have enough time to wake your mind up. Cook yourself a nice breakfast to brighten your morning. Make sure you always focus on what you need, tune into what your body tells you and respond kindly! If you need some extra rest, take a nap! If you’re overwhelmed with people and events, take some time alone to sip a coffee or just hang out under a tree.

This also extends to your health. Eating healthy, listening to your body, and getting regular exercise is crucial to your mind. Make sure you get enough nutrients and keep your blood pumping and those endorphins going! If you don’t have time to get a full work-in into your schedule, try to incorporate small active things in your everyday life such as taking the stairs and going on walks though out your day.

I took an interest in running and once I realized how much it brought my mood up, it became something I wanted to do every day. Running made me happier, healthier, and it even took up more time in the day so that there was less time for me to sit around stuck in my own thoughts.

Listen to your instincts

Everyone has that little voice that warns us when our new boyfriend is bad news or a friend isn’t someone that’s truly there for us. Never ignore that voice. If you have a bad feeling about someone, leave before they are able to do any damage to you. Always put yourself first and don’t feel bad about it. You need to be responsible for pruning your life, it’s not selfish but it’s very beneficial to your well-being and happiness.

Prioritize and manage time wisely

A good way to keep stress at bay is to stay on top of your priorities and get them done early. I know you don’t want to hear this, but procrastination is a big happiness-sucker! When you get things done days before they approach their deadline, you can relax and enjoy a shorter, less ominous to-do list! There’s nothing like waking up the morning before a paper is due, unable to think about anything but your upcoming deadline, so eliminate this problem ahead of time and sleep in Sunday morning for a change!

Cultivate meaningful relationships

This is a big one. Putting time into building strong and meaningful relationships does wonders for your happiness, because feeling connected to other humans is something we crave as part of our biology.

The times when I felt the most unhappy were times when I felt I had no one I could talk to. As a kid, I moved around a lot because of my military parents and usually the moves were not a problem but once I got in high school, it was harder to make friends in the schools I went to because everyone had lifelong friendships and as a result I felt like an outsider. Furthermore, high school is a hard time for anyone because we have to learn to handle our emotions and our hormones that start going crazy at that time. This difficulty handling emotions coupled with feeling I didn’t have anyone to confide in created an intense feeling of loneliness in me.

I had to learn how to build meaningful relationships to get myself out of this loneliness. I started actively trying to meet people, and then really making these new relationships meaningful. Some ways to do this include really listening to people. Immerse yourself in your conversations and quit checking your phone if someone is telling you a story! Check up on your long distance friends and family, always forgive the people you love and try not to hold on to anger over things that don’t matter in the long run. Be irritated and then let it go. Tell people how you feel because communication is important to healthy relationships, and there is nothing healthy about holding your feelings inside where they are free to bother you. Don’t sweep problems under the carpet because they always emerge tenfold and it’s easier to simply address things as they appear while they are still small.

I became closer to my friends and my family, and though I still feel lonely sometimes, putting active effort into working on my relationships brought me away from the feeling like I didn’t have anyone. Now I know there is always somewhere for me to turn and someone who will listen and love me when I need it.

Family is the best resource you are given in sustaining happiness. They understand you better than anyone and they have to love you unconditionally, so lean on them and enjoy their company

Do the things you love

Whatever brings you joy to engage in is something you should devote time to. Be it art, music, literature, nature, cooking, whatever, take the time to enjoy these activities. Doing the things you love brings you close to your passion and sets your mind in it’s favorite place so this is a simple thing you should never forget to engage in!

When I was feeling sad on a regular basis I ignored the parts of me that made me unique, and those were my interests. I forgot how much I loved art and reading, and spent so much time just feeling bored and listening to sad music. In my senior year of high school, around the time I started feeling better, I rediscovered art and literature. I started to fill every space of my free time with nature, running, hanging out with friends, and finally, creating art and poetry. Leaving no time to dwell on sad feelings forced me to leave my sad thoughts with no attention, and they started to fall away. I reconnected with the things that made me happy, and my feelings of loneliness and sadness were replaced with passion for living and inspiration.

Be present

I think this is the most important step to feeling happier in your day to day life. Being fully present in your surroundings is important because it enables you to get the most out of each experience. So be mindful in your position in present time, try to worry less about the future and the past and simply live. Some ways to do this effectively are spending less time wrapped up in your phone, listen to people including your teachers, parents and friends, and also focus on what is going on around you and enjoy the uniqueness of it all. Each moment you find yourself in will never occur again, so soak up the experience and take it all in!

I read about this tip in a book sometime in the end of high school and I tried to really absorb and live it. It brought a passion for living and an appreciation for each sensation, feeling, and thought that I got to experience. I learned that even the bad moments have some sort of importance in establishing who you become, and I tried to accept everything that I experienced as a part of life that would make it all make sense someday.

These are some good ways to bring more happiness into each day you live, and though some days are hard, I try to remind myself to remember these steps everyday. Happiness is important because it allows us to get the most out of our lives and reach our full potential, and it’s a journey I encourage everyone to set off on! The person I have become since my sad days in high school is someone I wouldn’t have recognized back then. I find happiness in the small things, revel in the sacredness of each moment as individual and full of pleasurable meaning you need only to learn to recognize, and I just enjoy life. There aren’t gray days anymore, each day is full of color and inspiration, and I encourage everyone who craves a little color and happiness to follow these tips and see where they may take you. Allow yourself to be present in your life and I truly believe you will find happiness in it, wherever you take the time to look!