Want to live a happy, fulfilling life? Believe it or not, it’s not your job, financial situation, health, or any other external factors that are holding you back from realizing happiness. Working on optimizing the previously mentioned will give you some puzzle pieces.
This is how you know I care about you. I've gotta tell you like it is. What's holding up your from happiness, is you.
In fact, just 10% of the variations in people’s happiness levels are due to their circumstances, What’s behind the other 90%? The ever-present genetics—which you can’t change, of course—account for approximately 50% of your happiness. The other 40% of the equation is entirely you.
How do you make the most of that 40%? Let me plant a seed of awesome here and say that the key to happiness is studying the behaviors and activities that happy people engage in. It might sound too easy, but becoming happier is as simple as doing what happy people do, and then get to practice.
How to Get Happy
It’s really not that difficult to live your best life. It’s a matter of taking care of your body, keeping life interesting, and recognizing your own achievements. Here’s how the monarchs of happy do it:
1. Fuel your body with nutritious, healthy foods.
Smoothies! Yeah, that's right. I’m talking about blending fresh fruits and vegetables into delicious, nutritious concoctions. If I didn't make smoothies, I’d need to pack two to four servings of fruit and three to five vegetable servings into my days to get my recommended daily allowance. That’s a lot of eating—more than any of us make time for in a day.
How can a beverage help you get to a better life? Smoothies offer a huge array of health benefits. For example, your digestive system contains nearly three-fourths of your immune system. By incorporating vitamin C-rich foods—such as citrus fruits and cruciferous vegetables—into your juices, you fight free radicals and inject antioxidants into your diet. which helps to keep inflammation in place which sets your brain up for more time on the happy corner. Brain inflammation can be a key factor for anxiety, depression, and who's got time for that foolishness. I know you don't.
2. Get fit.
The reasons to get fit are infinite. In recent research, it's been found that 20 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise can boost one’s mood for up to 12 hours.
Personally, exercise has been a haven for me to turn a frown upside down for over a decade. This next one may sound weird, especially if you don't like cold water, but taking contrast showers, in which you alternate 30 seconds of cold water with 30 seconds of hot. Subjects reported that after a couple of cycles they felt exhilarated and more focused in the day.
3. Take risks.
In 2015, I had the awesome opportunity to run the London Marathon with my good friend Shaka Brown. Then, the following day, we got up and took a train to Paris, to enjoy some warm croissants with our friend Danni. These divergent activities pushed my mind and body and made for a thrilling trip. (The warm, buttery pastry didn’t hurt, either.) Hey, you can enjoy it after running a marathon.
If you’re looking to escape your comfort zone, check Facebook events to discover fun things to do in your city. If you like to bike and run, find an adventure indoors—like board-game sessions or local acting groups. On your way, pull up Spotify’s Discover playlist for some fresh tunes. Whatever you do, don’t discount something until you try it! I've got plenty of Spotify playlist for you to sort through.
4. Celebrate successes.
Focusing on failures is much easier than you notice. It's obviously not conducive to happiness, but it’s not enough just to recognize your successes, either. Actually celebrate your achievements. Don’t be shy: Shout them out, grab some friends, and go reward yourself. You earned it.
Believe it or not, celebrating success doesn’t just make you feel good; it also brings bigger achievements within reach. A European study found that when individual soccer players celebrate after a successful goal, the entire team’s performance improves.
So how do I like to celebrate? After setting a new personal best in my deadlift of 340Lbs, I hit up Chipotle with my girlfriend. I know what you're thinking... CHIPOTLE!!! We love chipotle, and since we make most of our meals, it's a welcome treat. After all, just spending time with loved ones in a celebratory mood is a treat in itself.
5. Set new goals.
What motivates you? Are you passionate about leaving a positive mark on the world? Providing for your family? Representing your best self in your career?
Whatever it is, don’t listen to the naysayers. Envision yourself accomplishing your goal, and then get after it. Surrounding yourself with others that will spur you on like they do in a club like Axen Club!
It doesn’t matter that you might not achieve your goals. The hero's journey is always full of ups and downs that need to be adjusted. Simply by setting your goals, you’ll learn from both successes and failures. Visualizing what your life will look like and reverse engineering gives your life purpose. It's a purposeful life that is a happy one.
Making the decision to be happy is all it takes. Putting down whatever load your holding and realizing that this moment is the only one you're guaranteed is a great catalyst towards being happy right now.
No matter what life throws at you, caring for your mind and body are top priorities.
I’ve come to love my life and relish true happiness. I just want to remind you that with a little self-care I know that you can relish your happiness, too.
Here's to the H/W-ealth of your Mind, body, finances, relationships, Lifestyle!
Track Of The Day - Happy - Pharell Williams
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