7 Habits That Make You Happier

Happiness is fickle. When most people think about happiness, they think of the phrase “chase happiness” or “obtain happiness”. It’s a highly desirable state associated with wealth, love, and success.

When we’re busy chasing the next high— whether that be a whirlwind romance that makes your head spin, or hitting the next business milestone, it’s easy to get lost in the flurry of emotions and mistake that for happiness. In your mind, you think that once you obtain the goal you’re chasing, then you’ll truly be content.

Think back to a time when you really wanted something and once you got it, on average how long did you feel good for? 

The answer is probably not too long. And by then, you’re already thinking of the next thing to chase.

I was quite literally forced to peel myself away from the chase. This period of time has probably been the most tension-filled, agonizing phase ever. I’m talking about a deep, debilitating type of pain—a mixture of rage and grief.

It made me wonder, can you be happy if you’re not chasing something? Is it possible to be truly, consistently content with yourself?

The happiness that most people are looking for is probably not a quick flame, but a state—yet most people have no idea how to achieve this. If losing yourself in something is convincing yourself of being happy temporarily; then true happiness is knowing what it’s like to truly love the bareboned parts of yourself. It’s about loving the foundation before anything else.

I’m going to share with you the 7 habits that make you happier in the long term.

1)Read 10 minutes a day

Everyone is busy. But I bet in those 12 hours when you’re awake, you can afford to fit 10 minutes into your schedule. This doesn’t have to mean books (even though this is my personal preference), but anything (magazines, articles, informative posts) that can get you out of your own mind and help expand your worldview.

As human beings, we’re biologically rewarded by growth and evolution. New experiences have been shown to increase dopamine levels. We don’t all have the ability to incorporate mountain biking or cliff diving into our schedules. But the experience of grasping something new, solving a mental problem, or adding a new piece of knowledge to your repertoire can be very intrinsically satisfying.

2) Meditate for 5 minutes

The first thing you do in the morning can set the tone for the rest of the day. I talked about the importance of morning routines here. In just 5-10 minutes you can find the space to breathe deeply, center yourself and even say positive affirmations in your mind.

I’m just going to say it. I suck at meditation. But that’s also a sign of my monkey brain and a reminder of what I have to remove from my life to reduce this scatter-mindedness. Remembering to breathe deeply is so important for me because often when I’m in a state of distress my breathing becomes more shallow. This doesn’t help to calm down my nervous system but instead, makes it worse.

Everyone’s meditation practice is their own. You can center it around grounding, calming, powering up, or a hybrid of these intentions. Over time, this habit becomes a powerful tool in emotional regulation—so in times when you are feeling angry, sad, nervous, or hopeless, you always have the practice to come back to.

3)Get Moving

When we’re feeling overwhelmed, the best way to reduce our stress levels is to remove ourselves from that situation and take a breather. Go for a walk, engage in some high-intensity cardio, or hit up a friend to play a round of tennis or golf. 

Activating your body releases endorphins that make you feel better. Being overwhelmed equates to a lack of action. You’re so mentally debilitated by the current state of things that you’re unable to actually implement anything. When we take ourselves out and focus our energy on physical conditioning, we may find that we can come back to the problem with a clearer mind.

Make sure when you engage in any sort of physical activity, you put your mind to it. Being consistently stressed or overwhelmed leads to diminished energy and lack of presence. Lacking the ability be present in the moment, we will struggle with finding true contentment.

4)Get off Social Media for a Month

When you take a break from social media, I swear it’s almost like you added hours back into your day. I regularly take breaks, and when I do it makes a world of a difference in the way I feel.

Social media can be a way to inspire new ideas but if you want to go deep and really connect with the authentic version of yourself, you can’t let yourself be overly influenced by what you see online.

Take this extra time where you’re not scrolling through other people’s thoughts and content to work on yourself. Feed your mind with experiences and knowledge, and use the time to reflect inwards.

Trust me, coming out of it you will feel rejuvenated. This blog was born at a time when I was off social media (back in March).

5)Find someone you can share your thoughts with 

The act of letting go can be extremely powerful for our mental health. When we constantly have thoughts— either positive or negative running through our heads, it can get mentally taxing.

Happiness is an ongoing state of peace and contentment. When you can be focused and present with whatever you have in front of you, it’s easier to reach this state. However, if you’re mentally bogged down by unresolved thoughts, the best way to alleviate them is to say your thoughts aloud.

Even if you’re the most introverted person, there are ways to get your thoughts out. Film yourself talking! I know this might sound extremely odd, especially if you’re not a Youtuber but it helped me immensely when I was going through life changes.

Otherwise, practice being more vulnerable and open with the people in your circle. It’s a liberating experience for you, and also helps you forge stronger connections with people. Vulnerability breeds trust, and trust is essential for strengthening relationships.

Stronger relationships are correlated with greater life satisfaction.

6)Take Small Vacations but Don’t Overdo it

Taking a complete break and immersing yourself in a new environment can be both mentally stimulating and relaxing at the same time. Again, when we’re caught up in the day-to-day, we can get extremely zeroed in on one aspect of our lives, while completely neglecting the fact that there is actually a whole other dimension of life out there. There is so much beauty and worthwhile experiences you have yet to capture.

However, I say don’t overdo it because the reality is, that your life is not an endless montage of weekends skirting around the French Rivera with new beaus. Even movies come to an end, and you have to go back to your reality. Finding ways of making your life beautiful in the day to day, will reduce this urge to hop on the plane every couple of months. If you’re truly content with what you’re doing and the quality of the people in your life, then you won’tt feel this restless need to always take vacations.

7)Invest in Quality

Quality takes a longer time, but its effects are more worthwhile than settling for something that is of lower quality. In order to build a great friendship that will last and support you through decades, you have to invest time into building it and work on trust and vulnerability.

You can buy a $50 pair of shoes that will cause you to have foot problems down the line, or save up to buy a more expensive pair that’s designed to protect your soles.

Same thing with learning a new skill. You can learn skills quickly on Youtube, but to actually master them and reap the intrinsic benefits of accomplishment, you have to consistently apply yourself, experiment, and improve your moves.

The types of things you invest in—whether it be materials, resources, or knowledge—will speak directly to your character development and shape your own identity. If you see yourself in ten years having the best quality of everything, start investing little by little into that vision. Don’t settle for less just because it’s immediately more gratifying to do so.

I hope these 7 habits will help you cultivate a deeper, more beautiful and happy life.