Happiness often lies in the little things, the simple things. It’s amazing what a few changes can do to improve our quality of life. When things go wrong we blame those things for our unhappiness, but in actual fact, it’s the way we react to them that dictates our emotional response. Here are a few simple things that could truly change your life and put you back in control of your own responses and actions.
Be Positive
This certainly isn’t something you can just ‘do’. It takes practise to see the positive in every situation. Especially those seemingly negative things that surround us. It’s so easy to stop and dwell on the past or worry about the future. What we don’t realise at the time is that doing so robs us of our present, our happiness.
Spend More Time With Friends
Have you ever spent a day or evening with your closest friends and shortly after you feel refueled and re-energised? It’s not simply just that you’ve let your hair down or left the house, it’s the fact you’ve reinforced those all-important relationships. You know the saying, ‘a problem shared is a problem halved?’ well sometimes we just need to offload on our nearest and dearest.
Plan Things to Look Forward to
Life can seem like one on-going slog sometimes. The weekends pass by too quickly and as a result, the working week feels like a constant loop. Without plans and things to look forward to, life can become a drag. Start planning for a holiday or a city break. If money is tight and you’re not able to get away, turn your focus to the smaller things. Plan to go to the cinema, or visit your favourite restaurant mid-week.
Do Something For Someone Else Every Single Day
It’s amazing how one unselfish act every day can have such an impact. This daily habit is definitely one you want to adopt. It might sound like a lot of effort, but it could be as small as going out of your way to pay someone a compliment, making someone a cup of tea or writing a nice letter to a relative. You might even find you do a lot of these things anyway. Making a conscious effort to do them every single day actually increases your dopamine levels.
Studies have actually shown that treating others, as opposed to treating yourself is better for your happiness when you’re feeling low. So next time a friend suggest taking some time to yourself, why don’t you offer to take them out for lunch instead?
Happiness starts with you. Menopause especially can be a testing time, but often happiness is choice. Choose to be happier and see how your life starts to take a turn for a new direction. A brighter day awaits you when you start making small changes.