Happiness is so crucial to our health and well being. It’s important to spend time on a regular basis, reflecting on what makes us the happiest. What was your favorite day, hour or moment over this past year? How did this experience make you feel? How can you recreate more of these happy moments next year?
3 Things I Do Frequently, to Increase my Happy Moments
- Exercise and frequent movement.
Release your happy hormones by moving! I feel so much happier after a good workout. If you don’t like lifting weights, try dancing around your kitchen, play wrestling with you dog or walking around the mall if it’s too cold to walk outside. Indoor rock climbing, curling and swimming are also great alternatives to the gym. Focus on being your personal “healthy best self”, NOT being the perfect size or weight on the scale to increase your happiness.
- Giving back.
I started volunteering the the Daily Bread Food Bank this year and I absolutely love my time there! I’ve met caring and fun people in the community this way. So many people are struggling as the cost of living continues to rise, there are a ton of different causes out there. I especially love this position because I’m working in the warehouse so I’m constantly on the move lugging 30 pound bags of carrots to build my pallets. Find something that interests you and check out the volunteer opportunities. This is time well spent that will definitely bring you a lot of happy moments!
- Spend your time with loved ones.
Spend time talking and moving around with your loved ones including your pets, instead of sitting in front of the TV. Building social and emotional connections is so important to our happiness. Without the support of social systems in ancient times, most individuals in a tribe would fall prey to nature’s elements. Although things have changed a great deal since those times, most people still have a biological instinct to connect with a social network. So get off your couch and start talking, walking and enjoying humans and pets again. Living things are much more exciting and supportive than fictional characters on TV. It’s these connections that will drive your happy moments!
To Sum it up…Increase Your Happy Moments
Happiness is so important to our physical and mental health. Spend some time thinking about what really makes you happy. For me, my happy moments are when I’m exercising and moving around, volunteering and spending time with my loved ones. What are your happiest moments and how can you increase them over this next year?