Happiness Habits

A little happier every day.

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Here comes my first real post, and I want to start small. Nothing big, nothing fancy. Just small habits you can cultivate to become a litte bit happier. A little bit, no major life changing experience here. Just a litte bit happier, every day.

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The field of positive psychology, the study of happiness, has practically exploded the last couple of decades and there is a sea of books to south every soul. One of the themes that has triggered me the most is the concept of compounding. The idea that small consistent efforts repeated regularly over time will build up and form a momentum, creating amazing results. So here comes my list of small actions I repeat almost (yes, they will still do the trick even if you miss a day or two) every day. It will take some time, at first you won’t notice much of a difference. But after a while your new daily habits will build up exponentially and the effect will be much great than the small efforts you but in every day.

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I encourage you to read this as inspiration, but when you are finished please take the time to create your own personal list. Maybe a small step towards healthier eating and reading a few pages of an inspiring book is your way to go? Or a five minute power walk? Maybe it’s giving your friends or family more attention, like paying a compliment or an encouraging word every day that will be your new trick for a happier life. No positive action is too small, and by repeating them every day you will start seeing big results.

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A morning treat

Most of my happiness habits are scheduled for the morning or the evening, given that these are the most predictable times for me. My overall day changes very much, but I always wake up and go to bed at some point during 24 hours, so this is were I can be consistent.

Happiness habit number one is always starting the day with something I’ve looked forward to. For me this is a cup of excellent coffee and a small piece of chocolate. I’ve begun to love this habit so much, that it can sometimes be my main motivation for getting out of bed, it really does the trick for me on a cold winter morning.

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Counting my blessings

While enjoying my morning coffee I write down three things I’m grateful for. Gratitude is a big hit in positive psychology for many reasons. One of them is that your brain will look for what it’s been trained to look for. By counting your blessing every day you brain will start searching for things to be grateful for almost on it’s own. I always feel like writing that I’m grateful for my cup of coffee, but I try to come up with three new thing everyday. Sometimes it’s big things like my family or how I get to study something I love, other days it’s the pen I’m writing with, the perfect avocado I bought yesterday or just the weather.

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Live and learn

I love learning. I love having more information on a subject, knowing more things about the world around me and the feeling of growth I get from new experiences. However not all new learning experiences are happy experiences. Every evening I sit down to write three things I’ve learned that day. Sometimes this helps me think about what I can take with me from a bad day and other times it helps me consider what new knowledge that day has brought me. This exercise has helped me to open my mind even more to new learning experiences and picking up useful information as I go.

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Reviewing the day

This is a habit I find most useful when my life isn’t going exactly as planned or feels a bit overwhelming. Before I go to bed, I write down three things I’ve done that day. Not the things I was supposed to do, but didn’t get done. It always surprises me what I’ve gotten done in one day, especially on days where I feel like I didn’t accomplish anything.

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Setting my intentions for tomorrow

My last tip for a happiness habit is to end every day by thinking about what you want tomorrow to bring. I always try to think of what I look forward to the following day, however big or small it might be. Then, I decide what kind of day I want tomorrow. Shall it be a healthy one, where I get a little exercise and start the day with a healthy breakfast? Or maybe I’m going for a productive day, crossing some things off my to-do list. Sometimes I’ll decide that tomorrow I will relax and recharge my batteries. Just giving the day ahead some extra thought, makes me feel more prepared and excited for tomorrow, while also giving me a good night’s sleep.

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What will be your little happiness habits?

Wishing you all a very happy day!

• Camilla