How to be happy in life: 4 simple steps
Did you know that getting older actually makes people happier?
Older individuals have been shown to have much higher levels of happiness. Why? Because happy thoughts stay in our minds better than sad thoughts. With so many happy moments to look back on, older individuals tend to have a more positive, happy outlook on all that life holds.
The good news is that you don’t have to wait to get older in order to be happy or happier. You can start today with just 4 easy steps!
Fact Retriever
Happiness isa big business. Self-help books generate over $1 billion in annual sales. Additionally, the global market for antidepressants is over $17 billion.[
This post contains affiliate links, for more info check out my disclosure page.
Everybody wants to be happy, sadly there are more and more unhappy people in the world, looking for happiness in the wrong places. But we don’t have to be one of them.
Here are 4 steps that will help you become a happy person.
Be Thankful
According to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley,
when you’re thankful, you’re more likely to be a more joyful person.
Showing gratitude has many benefits, mental, physical, spiritual and emotional. Being thankful makes you more optimistic and can also help you lower stress.
Being thankful makes you focus on the good things and not on everything that is going wrong around you.
Even when you are going through some hardships in life, there is always something to be thankful for.
Sometimes being grateful to God is really a sacrifice of praise. When we find ourselves completely overwhelmed by the trials of life and we don’t feel Him near. It is hard to be thankful.
But even when we feel abandoned by God, when we think life is unfair and we are broken-hearted, choose to be faithful by being thankful. God loves a grateful heart.
Choose to see yourself as blessed besides your circumstances, and count your blessings. We have so much to be grateful for to God in this life.
If you struggle in this area, this book by Andrew Wommack will be a great resource in your life.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is Godās will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Choose to be Positive and Happy
We are more likely to think and speak
Positive thinking will bring you up and negative thinking will bring you down. That is the reason why God tells us to think only good things.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4 :8
Here are a few tips that will help you to be positive and happy
- Know who your God is and see yourself the way He sees you.
- Cast down any thoughts that do not align themselves with The Word of God. If it doesn’t bless you or others you don’t need to be thinking about it.
- Choose to look at the glass half full.
- Surround yourself with positive people. Joy is contagious, connecting yourself with happy people will make you happy too.
- Speak life over yourself and your situation.
- Listen to podcasts or CDs or videos that encourage you.
- Be full of Faith.
Although we naturally dwell on the negative, there are ways to wire your brain to focus on the positive. According to Rick Hanson, author of Hardwiring Happiness, all it takes is spending more time thinking on the positive in order to train your brain to naturally focus on happy moments over time.
Dr. Caroline Leaf explains how you can have correct thinking patterns. Her book Switch On Your Brain is a book that you should read at least once in your
Know Who Your Father God Is
When we have a close relationship with God, we get to know Him better. The more time we spend with Him and in His word the more we get to know Him.
God is our loving Dad and He promised in His word that He will take care of our every need. He is our helper, our comfort, our provider, our healer, our savior, our peace, our joy and much more.
Jesus told us that God takes care of the
This doesn’t mean that we are not going to have any problems or trials. It means that even in the trials He will be there with us, guiding us, strengthening us and seeing us through.
So there is no need to be worried, because our Daddy got us. There stronger our relationship with The Lord is, the happier we will be, because we can fully trust that He is taking care of us.
This post on How to Develop a Personal relationship with God will help you in this area.
Walk in Love
Trust me, you will save yourself a lot of headaches and heartaches by choosing to walk in love.
The Bible tells us that THE LOVE OF GOD was shed abroad in our hearts by The Holy Spirit, so as children of
What does walking in love mean? W
God’s kind of love is patient and kind, is not jealous or proud. It is not rude or self seeking and doesn’t keep record of wrong doings.
It does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
God’s kind of love never gives up or looses faith, it’s always hopeful and endures all things. His love never fails.
When we learn to walk in this kind of love our lives change. You will be a happier person loving this way. You will learn to see people and circumstances the way that God sees them.
Love is the most important fruit of The Spirit.
One last thought
We all go through ups and downs in life. Your circumstances do not dictate your happiness. You are the key to your happiness. You can learn to be happy.
I have met unhappy couples, unhappy singles, unhappy sick people and unhappy healthy people, unhappy poor people and unhappy millionaires.
But I have also met, happily married people and happy singles, happy sick people and happy healthy, happy poor and happy rich. Their happiness comes from what’s inside the heart. From the choices they have made.
Work on these 4 steps to be happy in life and sow seeds of happiness in your heart and you will see that it will bear much fruit.
Follow and Like!
Great Advice! So True!
š
Yes! I was just reading something yesterday that said something like we can choose to see life happening TO us or life happening FOR us. It is our choice. And it’s possible to be happy (or joyful) even when we’re sad about something. We have more choice than we think!
Yes, we all go through hard times during our lifetime, but how we see and deal with those problems determines our happiness.
I think happiness is fleeting but joy is in Jesus, thanks Carolina.
We can find happiness in Jesus.
Inspiring post!! I love your blog and the faith and hopefulness you share with the world!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
I think being thankful is so important too. We can choose to be happy and thankful everyday.
God loves a grateful heart.
I love that you started off with being thankful. I truly believe that makes all the difference in the world.
Being thankful makes us appreciate what we have.
I truly believe that being happy is a choice. Great thoughts.
It’s hard sometimes but it is not impossible.
I have definitely become happier as I have gotten older! Thank you for these wonderful tips!
š
The gratitude choice is one I work on with my kids ALL THE TIME. They come from trauma backgrounds and the pain is real, as is the sadness and fear and grief. I let them feel everything, then slowly notice where they are today and what they are grateful for, either when they were being hurt or now that it’s in their past. Thanks!
I love this. You are God sent to those kids.
These are so important. Thank you for the reminder.
š
Thank you, Carolina, for a wonderful post! I absolutely agree with your thoughts on this. And especially love several statements: you should surround yourself with positive people only and that the circumstances do not dictate the happiness.
Thank you
Love this post and I think so many could benefit from reading it! To me it seems to take very little effort to just be happy, like you mentioned, we can choose to be happy. We all have a choice.
I know sometimes when we have big problems or a sickness choosing happiness or joy is not easy. But being happy will help us handle our problems better.
Wonderful tips! It’s so important to dwell on the good things, because there’s enough out there that it’s hard to keep it up sometimes. Thanks for your encouraging words!
Thanks for stopping by.
Great tips! Being thankful is a big one!
Yes, being thankful is super important.
Great tips! No one dictates your happiness but yourself. š
Thanks š
So true, it does come down to our choices and whether we change our mindset or dwell in negativity.
There is so many negative things happening all around us but we need to focus on the good things if we want to be happy.
My husband and I were watching a TED talk about happiness last night! Gratitude was at the top of their list too!
That’s awesome!
I love this. And it’s true. The older I get, the more I realize how much control I have over my reactions to things. It’s not easy to choose happiness but it is possible more than most people think.
I think as we mature it is easier not to be controlled by our feelings or our circumstances.
Very true. This life can be hard at times, but Jesus says to take heart because he has overcome the world. <3.
Amen!
Being thankful is the one that I tend to remember first when Iām going through a hard time. It definitely helps put life in perspective.
I tried to do this too.
Gratitude is the best attitude! Thanks for sharing.
Love it š
I love that you included the statement about circumstances dictating happiness. Thank you for sharing your faith!
Thanks for stopping by.š
Happiness is indeed a choice and starts in the heart and radiates outward. Thanks for sharing!
I love this. š
Beautiful advise – thankful to have read such uplifting words on this beautiful Easter Sunday! Blessings!
Thank you for your kind words!
I love this! I’ve been having my kids think of one thing they are grateful for at bedtime and it has made me start doing the same. It makes me feel happier!
It is a good lesson to teach our kids. There is always something to be grateful for.
Love this post! I so agree, and walking in love is so important. How we choose to see the world, and how we choose to walk makes a huge difference in how we see the world, and how the world sees us.
I totally agree with you.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise ~ this is one of those verses that has helped me figure out how to act in a situation that may be trying.
I love it!
Wonderful advice Carolina, the older I get the happier I am for sure! Thanks so much for sharing š¤
Me too, I realize what truly matters.