Everyone wants to have either a happy and healthy life or a healthy and happy life, in these orders. I think of happiness as a very inclusive concept: I want to be happy with my health, happy with my relationships, happy with my family, happy with my work, happy with money, happy with friends, happy with my art, happy with my friendships, happy with the direction I take in life and happy with an endless list of other things.
Here is one of my top tips for a happy and healthy life. Take the tips that resonate with you, feel free to change any of them to make them fit your style and your life, or add new ones if there are some that are not applicable to you.
If you have 100 tips and you follow one every day, your life will quickly become both happier and healthier.
Tips for a Happy and Healthy Life
- Get up every morning blessing your day of new opportunities.
- Take a deep breath from time to time, it will help you relax and focus.
- Whenever you have a bad thought, acknowledge it and let it pass.
- Smile!
- If the past is painful, focus on now or the future. Remember, this too shall pass!
- Take time off to charge your batteries.
- Imagine a happy future.
- Play the “If I win the lottery” game whenever you feel down. Ask yourself what you would do if you won the lottery yesterday. You will be surprised how many of the things you imagine can actually happen today.
- Make a list of 100 things that make you happy and work on that list every day.
- Drink plenty of water. One liter of water per 22 kg of weight makes a world of difference.
- Make a list of the 100 things you are unhappy about and burn it!
- Make a list of 100 things that bother you and find a solution to them one by one.
- Write a journal for at least 3 weeks.
- Meditate!
- Sing! Regardless of your ability.
- Create! Creativity triggers happy chemicals in the brain.
- Dance! Any movement will make you feel better.
- Talk to someone you love once a day.
- Eat slowly and enjoy your food.
- Write a list of 100 things you are grateful for and look at it every day.
- Be kind!
- Focus on happiness not fussyness (avoid perfectionism).
- When you notice how a happy moment, stop, breath in the feeling and ask your brain to record it.
- Make a time circle around happy moments and try to increase it. If you are enjoying yourself, make sure not to touch any bad thought for 15 min after and try to increase it slowly.
- Have friends!
- Find a financial point you are happy with and try to maintain it once you reach it!
- Think of money as a good thing. Money is very useful but it is not a goal. It is only a means to an end.
- For good money management, you need to earn, use wisely, save and invest. Work on developing all aspects of money management.
- Fame, money and external looks are like a sugar rush. It only give a short boost of happiness and after that, we need more. Aim for longer lasting happiness.
- Enjoy an active sex life. This has been proven to change your happiness level.
- “Making love” makes the sex life even better.
- Cherish every second of your love making.
- Spice up your sex life. Use variety, atmosphere and some element of surprise.
- Learn to massage. Touch is healthy for everyone.
- Enjoy the sun (safely).
- Do not smoke!
- Pick friends who do not smoke! This will make the air around you much cleaner.
- Tackle your addictions. If there is something you think you cannot live without, it is an addiction (obviously, addiction to air, sleep and water are the best exceptions).
- Be proud of your achievements!
- Love your body!
- Stand in front of the mirror every day and say, “I love me!”.
- Have a go at laugh therapy. Laughing is healthy for you.
- Watch movies that trigger good emotions for you.
- Do community work.
- Join a club or a group of people with similar interests.
- Be “time rich”! Using good time management skills will bring you lots of happiness. Remember that the most happy and successful people on earth have the same 24 hours a day as us. We just need to know how to use our time wisely.
- Do not procrastinate! Stay focused.
- Collect good memories in photos, videos, journal. They will be useful in on emotional rainy days.
- Travel! It helps keep focus your priorities in life.
- Don’t drink alcohol. Life is so much easier, cheaper and longer without it.
- Pick friends who don’t drink. This will make it easier to have fun with them.
- Be married or in a relationship! It will make you live longer and happier.
- Think of every difficulty as an opportunity in disguise.
- Listen more, speak less!
- Every problem gives you a chance to find out you are stronger and better than you were before you solved it! Persevere.
- Learn to appreciate your skills. If you are not sure, make a list of skills and traits you have and look at this list to remind you.
- Aim to achieve something, every day!
- Do not complain!
- Take responsibility for yourself. Do not blame others! Always ask yourself, what can I do to make things better?
- Do not judge others (or yourself)! Be accepting.
- Do not give advice if it was not asked for!
- Do not gossip.
- Be honest.
- Adopt a faith. It does not need to be an organized religion but adopting strong beliefs and living by them can bring you lots of peace and happiness.
- Challenge yourself! This will make you stretch beyond what you think your boundaries are. Make sure you challenge yourself, not be challenged by others.
- Take the time to sleep enough. You can’t steal sleep from your body.
- Go to sleep summarizing your achievements.
- When you are tired, go to sleep! Learn to listen to your body.
- Turn off the computer 3 hours before sleep time. Research shows this helps you have a more fulfilling sleep.
- Have a technology free sleeping zone.
- Do not discuss important things close to bedtime. Your brain is winding down and deep conversations will not be very effective.
- Avoid caffeinated drinks 10 hours before bedtime.
- Do not work before bedtime. It will take your brain longer to calm down.
- Be physically active!
- Spend some time on your own to think.
- Do physical health checkups every six months to make sure everything is fine.
- Go to the dentist once every six months. It will save you lots of pain later.
- Read books!
- Go on a technology free diet once a week.
- Have fun! Fun is not a luxury; it is a form of happiness.
- If you need motivation and will power, take it from your achievements not your failures.
- If you are a parent, remember you are a role model!
- If you are a parent, do what I like to call “pride therapy”. Tell yourself (and your kids) how much you are proud of them.
- Say, “I love you!” to someone every day.
- Compliment someone every day. Even complimenting strangers will do the trick.
- Avoid reading fashion magazines; they only make you feel inadequate, poor, fat and helpless. Read stories about people who inspire you.
- Have goals, not wish lists! Write down things you are going towards.
- Be a person of action!
- Reward yourself for every achievements!
- Always pay attention to the half-full part of the glass.
- Adopt affirmations that make you feel better about yourself.
- Hang around people that make you feel better about yourself.
- Eat healthy. Keep the 20/80 rule: 80% healthy and 20% fun food.
- Eat more proteins and less sugar and carbohydrates.
- Get rid of fizzy drinks.
- Focus on enjoying your food. Good relationship with food can bring you lots of happiness.
- Dark chocolate works better than anti depressants.
- Make fruits and vegetables available in your fridge all the time.
Try taking action on the tips that resonate with you. I am sure working this list will make you feel much better.
Share your list of top tips for happiness in a comment below.
And remember: happiness is a choice!
Love,
Ronit
