Happiness is the only true measure of personal success. Making other
people happy is the highest expression of success, but it's almost
impossible to make others happy if you're not happy yourself.
With
that in mind, here are nine small changes that you can make to your
daily routine that, if you're like most people, will immediately
increase the amount of happiness in your life:
1. Start each day with expectation.
If
there's any big truth about life, it's that it usually lives up to (or
down to) your expectations. Therefore, when you rise from bed, make your
first thought: "something wonderful is going to happen today." Guess
what? You're probably right.
2. Take time to plan and prioritize.
The
most common source of stress is the perception that you've got too much
work to do. Rather than obsess about it, pick one thing that, if you
get it done today, will move you closer to your highest goal and purpose
in life. Then do that first.
3. Give a gift to everyone you meet.
I'm
not talking about a formal, wrapped-up present. Your gift can be your
smile, a word of thanks or encouragement, a gesture of politeness, even a
friendly nod. And never pass beggars without leaving them something.
Peace of mind is worth the spare change.
4. Deflect partisan conversations.
Arguments
about politics and religion never have a "right" answer but they
definitely get people all riled up over things they can't control. When
such topics surface, bow out by saying something like: "Thinking about
that stuff makes my head hurt."
5. Assume people have good intentions.
Since
you can't read minds, you don't really know the "why" behind the "what"
that people do. Imputing evil motives to other people's weird behaviors
adds extra misery to life, while assuming good intentions leaves you
open to reconciliation.
6. Eat high quality food slowly.
Sometimes
we can't avoid scarfing something quick to keep us up and running. Even
so, at least once a day try to eat something really delicious, like a
small chunk of fine cheese or an imported chocolate. Focus on it; taste
it; savor it.
7. Let go of your results.
The big enemy of
happiness is worry, which comes from focusing on events that are outside
your control. Once you've taken action, there's usually nothing more
you can do. Focus on the job at hand rather than some weird fantasy of
what
might happen.
8. Turn off "background" TV.
Many
households leave their TVs on as "background noise" while they're doing
other things. The entire point of broadcast TV is to make you
dissatisfied with your life so that you'll buy more stuff. Why subliminally program yourself to be a mindless consumer?
9. End each day with gratitude.
Just
before you go to bed, write down at least one wonderful thing that
happened. It might be something as small as a making a child laugh or
something as huge as a million dollar deal. Whatever it is, be grateful
for that day because it will never come again.
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