Why is it that we look for happiness everywhere except the place it is actually located. All around the world people are looking for a partner to make them happy, a child to make them happy, a job to make them happy, some material object like a car or handbag to make them happy and many of them are not having much success in finding the feeling they seek.
As with most skills in life, happiness is a habit that can be created. At first it may feel forced or unnatural when you are faced with a negative moment and have to decide how to feel. With time and repetition, you will find that you are reacting much less and actively choosing how to respond to problems or unwanted circumstances.
Here are five free ways to break a negative cycle and turn your mood around. These are not activities to make you feel happy, rather an action that takes your focus of feeling unhappy and turns it back to feeling good.
Sunshine
Get outside and feel the suns warm rays on your skin, even if the weather is not the best, get out and smell the rain, watch the beauty of a thunderstorm. Fresh air can do wonders for a blocked mind and it is free for everyone.
Move
Sedentary lifestyles have become more common than ever. Getting up and moving doesn’t have to be strenuous, take a long time or require any special equipment. Just go for a walk, even 5 minutes. You don’t even need to change your clothes or shoes for this, just move. When you get moving your brain produces endorphins which make you feel good.
Gratitude
Instead of focusing on what is wrong in your life and what is making you feel unhappy, stop and have a look at all the good things that are present. Even if you are at rock bottom, you are still alive and each new day brings fresh opportunities. Think it, write it down or speak out loud the things you are grateful for having in your life, but most importantly, feel the gratitude.
Meditate
The term meditation can be off putting for some however it doesn’t need to be a complicated process. It doesn’t even matter if it is not being carried out correctly, the main aim of the game is to find the space between your thoughts. The longer you practice, the longer the periods without thoughts will become. A good way to start is by focusing on your breathe in and out and nothing else. If something distracts you and thoughts keep coming, simply tell them to stop and go back to focusing on your breathing.
Smile
This may be a new practice for some of you. It really is a great way to make induce feeling good. Go and look at the mirror and smile and see if you can stay feeling down. Your face relaxes and there is a lightness that comes with a smiling face. Best of all this exercise can have a twofold positive impact. Your smile at a stranger may be the only one they receive all week and you may never know how much this small act of kindness brightens their day.
Happiness is an inside job. Your happiness is not determined by the events around you, the behaviour of others, the dollars in your bank account or the situations you find yourself in each day. Of course some times there are circumstances we face which can make seem to make us feel down or sad or even angry, but ultimately it is our decision whether we react to the situation or consciously decide how we want to act.
