How do I find happiness? So many people seem happy all the time, what’s their secret?

Let me start by saying that you are not alone in your search for answers. All of us ask the same question at some point, if not multiple times, during our lives.

Anne Frank said

We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.

Well, I’m here to tell you that happiness is NOT some big mystery. There have been people studying “what makes people happy” for decades. Luckily, they’ve done the research so all we have to do is apply their answers to our own lives.

In this article, you’ll learn the answer to “What is happiness?”. You’ll also get my tips on being happy, and the areas to work on in your own life to find true happiness. At the end of this article, I have an awesome exercise that will help you apply what you’ve learned by using your imagination.

What is happiness anyway?

Let’s start by getting a solid definition and explanation of “what is happiness?” Dictionary.com (awesome site) defines happiness as ” the quality or state of being happy.”

AH HAH! Now I’ve got it all figured out! Somehow I knew I’d find a definition of happiness like that.

They also define happiness as a “state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.” Now, isn’t that better? So happiness ranges from being content with your life to being extremely joyful about it. Now let’s look at seven ways that you can work on happiness in your own life.

Tips on being happy

1. Develop peace of mind - This is, quite possibly, the largest part of finding true happiness. Peace of mind acts as a compass that tells you if what you’re doing is working for you.Put simply, you experience peace of mind when you free yourself from negative emotions such as, guilt, anger, doubt, fear, resentment, and worry. Your goal in this area should be to constantly examine, and then eliminate the negative emotions you find in your own life.
2. Strive for good health - Imagine yourself as perfectly healthy. Good health is another huge key to achieving true happiness.You become what you think and imagine. Imagine yourself eating the right things, exercising, and being happy when you look in the mirror.
3. Cultivate quality personal relationships - A true measure of your personality is the loving and intimate relationships you have. If you are involved in relationships you know are unhealthy, it’s time to make a change.Strive to be around people who love you, build you up, and whom you look up to.
4. Seek financial freedom - Having financial freedom means not worrying about money constantly, like most people do. Financial problems, in addition to people problems, account for most of the issues that keep you from achieving peace of mind and true happiness.Get on a plan, out of debt, and start today seeking financial freedom.
5. Establish worthy goals and dreams - This is about living on purpose. You need a commitment to something greater than yourself if you want to find happiness.Start thinking about how you can use your God-given talents, personality, and skills to make the world a better place.
6. Become self-aware - You need to take the time to examine your past experiences in order to fully understand your current thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.You must learn to forgive others and embrace all the experiences, good and bad, that have shaped who you are today. Only then can you move forward to becoming the best you possible.
7. Achieve personal fulfillment - This is what happens when you start becoming the person you’ve imagined in these previous areas.When you start living a life on purpose, free from negative emotions, financially free, and involved in positive relationships, you’ll really start to find true happiness.

Take action! What would true happiness look like to you?

STEP 1: Write down a vision of your ideal or perfect life. What I did was buy a small binder just for exercises like this. I can type and revise, print, hole-punch, and put them in the binder for review later.

You can also do some other cool things with your binder. Like insert a calendar for planning, and loose-leaf paper for notes and brainstorming.

Use the “print this post” link at the top of this article to save and review regularly.

STEP 2: Go deep into your imagination to design every aspect of your perfect life. It’s not important how you’ll get there. What’s important here is determining what happiness and success mean to you.

After all, how can you ever be happy if you don’t know what you truly want out of life?

STEP 3: Answer the following questions in your article. The more detailed the better. (You can answer them one by one, or do something more creative like an obituary, award acceptance speech, or a speech at a future birthday celebration like I did)

• If you had complete peace of mind in your life what would you be doing? Where would you work, live, spend your free time? Who would be there?
• What would perfect health look like to you? What would you look like and feel like? How much would you weigh? What would you eat?
• What would the perfect relationship look like to you?
• What would life be like if you achieved all your financial goals? How much money would it take do live how you want to live?
• What activities give you the greatest sense of meaning and purpose? In what ways could you use your talents, time, and touch, to make the world a better place?
• What lessons can you learn from past experiences to shape your ideal future?

I’d love to hear your own “ideal life” story. If you’re comfortable sharing, please use the comments below.

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