How to make yourself happy and build happiness into your life, might be something you have been thinking about. Happiness seems to be something that we are constantly striving towards, but never taking a moment to create it. We work harder, or we think that more will make us happy, when in fact those tiny moments can bring happiness into our life everyday. 
We should be looking at happiness as part of our business strategy. This isn’t about wearing a fake smile or becoming a robot, this is about building in resilience and being able to carry on.
In this week’s podcast I talk about small steps that you can take to bring happiness into your day to day.
You can download it here:
How to build in happiness
Happiness isn’t something that should be seen as work. We need to build it into our daily life so that it helps us on the tough days. Being a creative entrepreneur takes guts, risks and determination. Of course there will be days when we don’t feel up for it, which is why we need to take care of ourselves.
Scheduling things means that it happens. Build a strategy to add happiness into your everyday. Look at the moments you can grab during your morning routine. Look at the sunrise, appreciate the water on your face or the coffee in your cup. You don’t need to go off and learn how to meditate, but you do need to make a conscious effort to build these moments into your life.
There is so much great evidence around the benefits of meditation that you can read here: Meditation
Resilience and grit are linked
Just as a computer needs to rest, so do we. We can’t run on empty as this leads to burnout and overwhelm. I have experienced both of those, and it is no fun at all! Happiness should bring joy, and joy helps to build resilience. Resilience is what helps us to cross the finish line, so isn’t that worth planning for?
Ways to build in happiness
Think about the ways that you can build resilience and happiness into your daily routine. Here are some suggestions for you:
- Take the tiny moments in your daily routine to be present. And I mean totally present. It only needs to be five minutes as you brush your teeth or wash your face. Feel the water cleaning you for the day ahead, taste the mint in your toothpaste and turn off the to-do-list for that moment.
- Look outside. This sounds like an obvious one, but do you actually look up from your phone while you eat your breakfast? Are you listening to the sounds outside, like a car driving past or a bird singing. Stop for 30 seconds and really be in the room.
- Reach out to other people. Hold doors open, bring someone a coffee, say thank you.
- Smile. This one is contagious, which is why I love to use it. Even the most grumpy person can be persuaded to smile when it is done with love.
- Pass it on. Do something good for someone else. It doesn’t have to be a massive gesture, even sending an email or text saying that you were thinking about them can make someone’s day.
- Look for happiness in the day to day. See when people are being kind to each other. Notice the way that children explore their environment. Bring some of that wonder back into your own day to day.
- Reach out to someone. If you are feeling overwhelmed, or suffering with depression, please reach out to someone. Suffering on your own is tough. I have suffered with depression myself in the past, and some wonderful counselling helped me to deal with it. This is a link to the Samaritans.
Next steps
Work on your confidence. I recommend having a look at Amy Cuddy’s Ted talk about this. Trick your body into thinking that it is confident and eventually you will be. This is the same for feeling happy. Sometimes forcing yourself to smile can actually help you take the first step to feeling happy. I challenge you to try it in the mirror today.
There is a worksheet that accompanies the podcast that you can use to come up with a way of building happiness into your own life.
You can download it here.
If you are struggling to build in happiness or want help developing a strategy to reach your goals, mentoring might help you. I have a few slots left for this year.
You can find out more by clicking here: Tell me more!