How to be happy. 5 essential steps to boost your happiness

Always nervous and in a bad mood, it seems like nothing is going right, negative scenarios come to mind without any reason, cannot fall asleep easily and many more. Does that sound familiar? It could be an anxiety, stress and depression.

Continue reading and you will found out how you can solve these problems on your own and be happy.

Disclaimer: In this post I share my own experience. All these steps helped me to defeat my anxiety and stress, caused by a chain of bad and stressful events in my life, which happened almost at the same time. Follow these tips only if you do not have any mental disorders, otherwise contact an appropriate specialist.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.

Table of content show

ADMIT YOU NEED CHANGES

The most important step on the way to being happier is to admit and accept this fact, that you really need changes in your life, as well as in behaviour. Whatever the circumstances you have around you – it’s you only who can change yourself, your mood and your life.

5 ESSENTIAL STEPS TO BE HAPPY

1. Feed your brain

Many people can see a direct connection between nutritional deficiencies, lack of sleep, insufficient water intake and physical illness. But they rarely link mood changes and even mental disorders to nutrition and sleep routine.

We are biological organisms with biochemical processes, and our mood is a result of our brain work. If a brain doesn’t have enough resources, it will hardly cope with any external circumstances, which can lead to stress or anxiety.

With food

Diverse and healthy food helps to be happy.

You have probably noticed that a good piece of cake, big mug of coffee or chocolate bar can improve your mood. Temporarily.

Eating more sugar (as any other refined carbohydrates), initially generates a dopamine response for pleasure in the short-term. But your brain requires more and more sugar to keep the same effect, and, if new sugar is not provided, you can feel even unhappier than before. On top of that, in most cases, you can feel guilty because of eating additional calories.

Instead, a well balanced diet can keep your mood good and stable long term. It’s important to balance your macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats), but for the brain’s well-being the right amount and proportion of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are more valuable.

Here is a list of micronutrients your brain would love and will repay you with a good mood.

Micronutrient	Source
Calcium	Collard greens, ricotta, yogurt, milk, kale
Chromium	Grapes, whole-wheat baking, potatoes
Folate	Spinach, black eyed peas, asparagus, brussels sprouts, avocado
Iron	Fortified oatmeal, soybeans, lentils
Magnesium	Almonds, spinach, cashews, peanuts, edamame
Omega-3 fatty acids	Chia seeds, chinese broccoli, spinach
Vitamin B6	Bread, wholegrain cereals, such, eggs, soya beans, peanuts, milk, potatoes
Vitamin B12	Milk, cheese, eggs, some fortified breakfast cereals
Vitamin D	Sunshine, mushrooms, egg yolk, cheese, fortified milk
Zinc	Legumes, seeds, nuts, dairy, eggs, whole grains, potatoes, dark chocolate

Micronutrients we need to be happy. Vegetarian sources.

It’s really not easy to maintain micronutrient balance, especially if you have never done it before. You can just start by eating more fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables and diversify your menu. Supplements are also a good solution to feed your brain with vitamins and minerals.

With water

As your brain is mostly water, proper hydration helps (apart from other benefits) to balance your mood and emotions, hence, reduce stress.

Water helps transport oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body, including the brain. In other words, water brings “happy” vitamins and minerals directly to your brain to make you happier.

There is no particular amount of water to drink. This number depends on several factors such as gender, age, weight, activities, location and so on.

With sleep

No need to be a scientist to know that sleep and mood are closely connected. Poor sleep can cause irritability, impulsive behaviour and anger, while chronic sleep deprivation may develop mood disorders, such as stress, depression or anxiety. On the other hand, healthy sleep can cure even some physical diseases. So good adequate sleep will definitely give power to your brain to maintain your mood well.

The average healthy sleeping time for adults is 7-9 hours, and the hours of sleep before midnight are more valuable for every level: physically, mentally, emotionally.

Action: Take care of your brain. Eat diverse and healthy food, avoid refined carbohydrates, drink enough water, have proper rest.

My experience: Even though I mostly eat balanced meals, it was not enough for my situation. I decided to start taking Vitamin B Complex and felt better just in a couple of days. I could not force myself to drink enough water, as it was cold. Then I started to drink hot water and it was the solution. As a result, I found it easier to fall asleep on time and my sleeping hours became close to normal.

Helpful tools:

2. Exercise

Workouts with intensive breathing helps to be happy.

In any unclear situation go for exercise. Even though it sounds like a joke, this approach really works. Anger, stress, anxiety and even a bad mood can be killed by a good cardio workout in the open air.

One of the secrets is in your breathing. Deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you to stay calm. Apart from that, aerobic exercises, like running, increase the level of β-endorphins, which induce euphoria. One more reason is the impossibility of paying attention to anything else, except your exercises. The mind concentrates on the workout and it’s present here and now.

The interesting fact, that brain scans show that meditation and running can have a somewhat similar effect on the brain. The reason is that breathing practises and mind concentration are keys of any meditation.

Apart from the breathing magic, workouts make the body stronger and more resilient. Feeling the strength is, definitely, a great feeling, which motivates you to move forward and gives you confidence in yourself.

Action: Do any workouts with deep breathing: running, jogging, jumping with a rope, fast walking, yoga breathing exercises or meditation.

My experience: I forced myself to start running. The effect came immediately after the first running workout. My mood became much better, my thinking – more positive and I got a powerful boost of energy. It was fantastic!

Helpful tools:

3. Feel nature

Spending time in nature helps to be happy.

Spending time in nature reduces anger, fear, stress and increases pleasant feelings. Natural colours and peaceful landscapes bring powerful relief to your mind. If even indoor plants improve concentration, reduce stress levels and boost your mood, big and old trees and bushes outside will do it much better.

Apart from that, in nature you can get a lot of fresh air. And, as we already know, a good amount of quality air is vital for humans.

Action: Simply go outside. Even though you don’t have a lot of nature next to your home, you always can go to the nearest park or even just see the sky.

My experience: I’m lucky to live next to an ocean, hills and forest. I go to nature every day, just watch green crowns of trees, clouds in the sky and ocean surf. How do you feel after reading this line? Yes, this is exactly what I felt, but stronger, because I saw it, not just read.

Helpful tools:

FREE Mood Tracker

4. Be thankful for what you have

Being thankful for what you have helps to be happy.

Appreciation of what you already have brings more positivity in your life.

This effect was examined by Robert A Emmons and Michael E McCullough in 2003. The scientists asked 3 groups of participants to keep a record of complains or gratitude, and either neutral life events listing, according to their group. They then kept weekly records of their moods, behaviors, health, and other life elements.

The summary of Emmons & McCullough’s study:

‘Asking college students enrolled in a health psychology class to write briefly each week for 10 weeks about things they were grateful for over the past week increased well-being, reduced physical symptoms of illness, and increased exercise hours as compared to two control conditions over this period.’

Action: Concentrate on positive events that happened to you during the day. Even small things, which made you smile, are counted.

My experience: I have a tiny diary, where I write every day 3 events that I was grateful for. I did it before sleep, so it relaxes my mind and prepared me for better sleep.

Helpful tools:

5. Celebrate small victories

We are happier when we achieve our goals. But most of us tend to believe we don’t achieve anything important. To recognise it as a victory, it should be at least discovery of another planet or invention of cure-all treatment. Usually, the small steps to the goal undeservedly remain unnoticed.

But acknowledging even the smallest wins can boost your mood and energy, and it’s not only about your professional life. Some days just getting off the bed on time in the morning can be a great achievement.

You have been doing workouts for 5 days in a row, cleaned up mess in the pantry shelves, started using dental floss every night – each of these actions deserves to be called a win and has to be celebrated. You can give yourself any prize – a candy, a cup of aromatic herbal tea, just be proud of yourself, share the win with people you love, place reward stickers in your journal, listen to your favorite song – anything that makes you happier.

Action: Recognise all your achievements, either big or small, praise yourself and celebrate it in your way. You deserve it!

My experience: I keep records of things I have done. It helped me to reflect on my days and keep track of all those little achievements that normally go unnoticed. With understanding that I do things and move forward, my confidence grows and I definitely feel happier.

Helpful tools:

ASK FOR HELP

Sometimes it’s too hard to cope with stress alone and there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Share your feelings with people you love. Friends’ hugs and kind words can boost your mood significantly.

If you feel you don’t have power to do any of the steps listed above on your own – it’s the right time to ask for professional help. Sometimes a chronically bad mood can be caused by a physical disease and you cannot resolve this problem without a doctor.

USEFUL LINKS

Here you can find the links for affordable tools and free files, which help to be happy, mentioned in this article:

Share this post with your buddies, who want to be happy as we do!

Pin this article to your How To Be Happy board to read it late.

How to be happy. 5 essential steps to boost your happiness

ADMIT YOU NEED CHANGES