It's often easy to conclude that a luxurious life or money always leads to happiness but its it's not always so. According to research, simple things like spending time with friends or loved onces, showing gratitude etc tend to make us happier.

Source and edited by @graciella

Perphaps you want to divert the negative thoughts or just continue the path of positivity, today we will look at 7 ways to feel good about yourself or boost happiness...

1. First accept yourself;

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Before any other point, being happy from within is the first step to enjoying moments or anything around you and that will only be possible when you accept, embrace and acknowledge yourself. Particularly, try to accept all your vulnerability, faults etc knowing that everyone has them. Accept who you are, where you are and try to live be in your reality. As much as we all are fighting to be better, do better or have a better future, if you can't live in your own reality and accept who, what or where you are then happiness is going to be harder.

As part of accepting yourself, stop comparing yourself to others. Eventhough it is not as easy as its said, if you fail to focus your mind on the good things already in your life or on the good things you're doing them you'll obviously be tempted to place your focus on what others people are doing. According to some research, social media is one of the most common places or causes of comparison and it's often associated with lower self-esteem on those involved.

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2. Practice gratitude daily;

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It's true that when you show gratitude, it can help improve your mood. Some people tend to write down a couple of positive things that happened during their day and that helps to make you less stressed, more energetic/healthier and even get better sleep.

All you need to do is make it a regular habit of being grateful for even the smallest things. You could take every morning during breakfast or after prayers to think of even 3 things that you are grateful for about the previous day or at the end of the day before going to bed write down at least 3 things about that day you're grateful for. It can be as tiny as a nice butterfly that made you smile during a walk or even as big as a promotion or as simple as good health.

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3. Be kind and help others;

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Just thinking about how much problem someone else has is enough to stop your from thinking about yours for at least sometime. But just thinking about it maybe not be as useful as being able to assist then. Not only does it help then but you get to feel happy for making a difference.

There is always joy in giving, a simple kind gesture, being able to share no matter how big or small is enough to brighten the day of the person and eventually yours. It can be as little as holding the door open for the next person, baking snacks/deserts for your coworkers, assisting an elderly person, taking part in donations, even as little as just saying thank you on a delivery or just complimenting someone on anything.

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4.Forgive yourself;
We all make mistakes every now and then but the moment you start over thinking a mistake you made, its torture. Learn to forgive yourself for past faults and also for present mistakes. This does not in anyway mean that you keep making mistakes intentionally or refuse to take responsibility for your mistakes and actions but rather means you shouldn't keep killing or torturing yourself for it that way, you will be happier.

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5. Eat healthy foods;

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We all know the famous phrase of “You are what you eat.” Yup, eating healthy isn't only going to make your body feel good but will also improve your mental health. Let us say you eat more of packaged or fast food, what happens is your body lets you know by first gaining weight or you start feeling sluggish and the health problems unhealthy foods come with.

You’re won't be just taking care of yourself but also you'll more energetic and vibrant when you're healthy. There's no doubt to the saying "a healthy life is also a happy life".

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6. Listen to good music;

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They say music is the best medicine for the soul, I think thats how it goes but all thesame we all know the effecf music has on ones mood.

If you're feeling said and don't even know what music to play then you can remember happiest moments from your life and listen to some somgs you knew or liked back then. Music has a way to bring back memories of where you listened to it before. Maybe in college you were you happiest, play some songs you loved and that might better your mood.

We all have different genres, musicians, artists or groups of songs we enjoy most. Even if it's not to remind you of a past happy moment any song you currently enjoy presently can always help better your mood. It works really well for me and I'm sure its gonna work for you too.

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7. Staying fit:

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I don't know how this sounds but being able to keep your physical and especially mental in check will do a lot to your emotions. Taking part in physical activities increases the level of serotonin which I can call a happy virus😂😂. Well it's a hormone responsible for happiness and controlling our mood so this explains itself.

Likewise, things like meditation can be good for mental health as it brings calm, helps one feel refreshed and happy.

BONUS

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You want to be happy don't you? Then make sure you have something you look forward to. When you set your goals and your working towards those goals, when you finally achieve them there's this beautiful feeling of accomplishment and trust me that will you happy. So first you need to have a purpose, have goals you're working to achieve or something you're looking forward to so that you can keep going forward and that alone is enough to make you happy knowing someday you'll achieve that dream except you don't believe in yourself...