8 easy steps to build happiness

Who does not want to live a happy life? But how many of us know how to achieve it on an organized base? I found in "The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World" some great information on this and I want to share it with you.

1. Get a larger perspective

Especially when we face some difficult times we tend to stay there, in our bubble, and feel that the world has come to an end. At this point, it is useful to step back and put the "now moment" on a timeline.
Visualize how will this problem look like in 5 or 10 years. Remember past problems, similar maybe, and what you've learned from there. I believe they helped you and for sure they are a part of who you are now.

2. Be humble

Trying to be better than the others comes with anxiety and fear of failure. It will make you build a mask to protect your "better than others" personality.
Getting out in the world feeling unique but not better or worse than the ones around you and somehow connected to them can be a definition for freedom.

3. Laugh a lot

One of the great skills we can all work to develop is humor. Look at yourself with humor, look at life with humor, do not take things to serious because nothing is permanent.
Laugh often to reconnect to your inner child and to bring real joy in your life. Laugh with all your heart, play as much as you can and recharge your batteries using this very well known "technique".

4. Practice acceptance

Start with yourself. Accept your good parts and your challenging ones. After you'll manage to accept yourself you will judge less the others. And less judging will leave more time to love and to enjoy life.

5. Forgive

This comes as next step for acceptance. Forgive yourself when you are wrong and forgive the others when they do wrong. The same with judging, refusing to forgive and then to get over affects you and is eating your time and resources that could be used to grow happier. As I mentioned in a previous article, most people don't do things with the desire to hurt someone but with the desire to obtain something for themselves. The intention is good, sometimes the result is not but how great world could be if instead of condemning people for their choices we would rather try to understand their good intention.

6. Be grateful

We often think about what we do not have. What if you will try for the next 7 days to find one thing you are grateful for every time you see or remember something is missing. Happiness has one of the strongest roots in our ability to thank for what we have and to be confident that we will achieve what you desired. And thank again to all the ones around us, to all the ones that interacted with us in one way or another.

7. Show and feel compassion

It is proved that when we suffer, if we are able to see others are suffering also, our pain is diminished. When you show compassion, people feel acknowledged, seen, understood. And this helps a lot in all involving pain, physical or emotional.
And for you, the one feeling compassionate, your own problems would be less "important" as you will see the world as a whole and you will find connections between people and their different needs. We are social, we need meaningful connections in order to be happy and to experience joy.

8. Be generous

I once thought giving is the most selfish act as I always felt so good after. Now I understand this is a larger context. It's not selfishness, it's the same path to build connections. When you give you prove trust and the conviction that you will receive, even if you don't ask. If you refuse to be generous you refuse other people's generosity. As we approach Christmas, remember Scrooge and what he found to be the real magic of holidays.

Hope you enjoyed it and found it useful.