Do more of what makes you happy
Positive Thinking - Do more of what makes you happy
'Do more of what makes you happy’ is a frequently used saying. It is also a saying that is often misused or perhaps even overlooked. Feeling happy or finding happiness in life is something we all seek. How we get there or how long it actually takes us, is always a key question an individual has to answer themselves.
As a person, I’m an advocate of happiness. I always want to feel happy and content, within myself and also find it extremely important to encourage others to explore feeling the same way.
Through life's journey, our situations often change, our happiness waivers and from time to time life's challenges begin to test us. Overcoming those challenges and finding harmony and common ground is necessary for us to feel good about ourselves. How we reach that point, is again almost certainly down to us as an individual.
Doing more of what makes you happy, is a simple and effective mindset, which allows us to develop happiness within ourselves, mainly starting from our own unique experiences. Throughout my life, I have always viewed the outdoors and sport, as the perfect means of helping me to regulate occasional rises in stress levels, and by participating in such pastimes, the overall levels of positive thoughts and happiness have been able to flow freely into my life.
How do you reach higher levels of happiness?
I always feel, starving our bodies of the much-needed essentials will inevitably lead to negative consequences, and as a result of continued bad habits and negativity, our general health and well-being can begin to suffer.
Feeding the body with the appropriate ingredients can lead to increased and growing levels of positivity, happiness, fulfilling our overall aspirations and often leading us to achieve the unthinkable.
Being active and undertaking frequent amounts of activity can certainly help. Activities and events can be conducted in a variety of different forms, but should always involve something that stimulates us, both in body and mind. Activities should be built around personal choice, or perhaps be dictated around the circumstances or situation, we find ourselves in.
Setting Goals
In my opinion, I will always side towards activity-based happiness, as I feel activity is the key to establishing an overall feel-good factor, within our lives.
Research, from ‘the experts’, continually points towards its overall positive effects and how an activity should play a significant role in our everyday lives, and by adopting such an approach, it is clear we can benefit in a variety of different ways.
I'm a teacher and within my role, as an educator. I’m continually engaging and talking with pupils and colleagues about the benefits of setting achievable goals. It is clear, that goals are essential in order to educate effectively, and with that assumption, I do believe this mode of thinking can easily be transferred into to other areas of our lives.
So much so, in my life, I’m not only setting myself achievable goals within my career but also I’m continually integrating them into my personal life. As a result, the outdoors continues to play a significant role in what I do and helps determine the goals I set.
By establishing clear goals in your life, I feel it is easy to not only motivate yourself, but it allows you to inspire others to do similar. Achieving goals does take commitment and sometimes even a lifestyle change, and when the novelty sometimes begins to wear off, you often find yourself slipping back into bad habits. So, to achieve your intentions, your goals should not only become an integral part of your daily life. They should be achievable and generally lead you towards an overwhelming feeling of positivity and happiness, each and every day.
What makes you happy?
Defining what makes you happy, again comes down to the individual. Being outside in the fresh air, seeing nature and beautiful landscapes that surround me, is something I always enjoy. Participating in all manner of sports pursuits has always been a favourite, so mixing up the two, feels like the perfect combination.
What you do, how you do it and the regularity of such events, inevitably fluctuates but I feel if you can make something become a regular event in your life then the benefits will most certainly begin to follow soon after.
My daily routine involves Cycling to work and back - How to Cycle EVERY DAY
I do this every single day of the working week and by adopting this approach to commuting, I always feel energised, focused, healthier and happier, within my everyday life. Of course, it is a significant challenge and a routine that demands a lot, from both my body and mind. Although, I have gradually grown used to it and it definitely now becomes one routine that I wouldn’t change.
Other than continuous cycling I have also made other choices and have been motivated and inspired by people, who have a real story to tell. Their words highlight that there are many other different ways of establishing a more significant level of Karma in your life. Other than cycling, of course.
Here are just a few of my simple suggestions you could adopt in your life:
Activity-based
Get up early and go for a walk.
Just run - the regular release of endorphins will bring a smile to your face.
Spend more time outdoors - 30 minutes to 1 hour a day is enough!
Enter something - set Goals and take on a Challenge.
Swim - Wild Swimming is good in so many ways.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone - run a marathon, Ironman, climb a mountain.
Cycle.
Personal changes
Source good food, cook and enjoy what you create.
Volunteer at a school - it will make you smile and also open your eyes.
Develop your knowledge - read more.
Find something good in EVERYTHING you do.
Listen and Love Music.
Smell good, Look good, Buy something new.
Smash some plates - the Greeks seem to love it!
Compliments are free - use them frequently.
Don’t take yourself and your life too seriously.
Stay Humble - stop pretending your someone you are not.
Smile.
Invest time in others.
Enjoy a Road Trip - Package holidays are generally rubbish!
Support a Charity - help others.
Admit you sometimes get things wrong.
Recognise you’re not perfect, just like everyone else.
Laugh out loud.
Help old people because one day you will be old too!
Appreciate the small things - I know I do!
Grow something - anything!
Use less Social Media - nothing good comes out of spending time in front of a screen all day.
Stop using Quotes - they're nothing new, they are uninspiring and used by people who cannot think for themselves.
Important - Tell people you love them.
Watch the world go by - Stop, Sit and Listen.
Do something to today you might not be able to do tomorrow.
5 Reasons Why you need to find happiness in your life:
When YOU are happy, you will always be at YOUR best.
Doing what makes you happy is a great example to set.
Happiness means healthiness.
Not being happy, is no fun.
Happiness increases confidence.
Find inspiration
As a teacher and a human being. I find knowledge and the overall desire to learn an invaluable part of how we develop as humans. Out there, is so much information and education for us to discover. Inspiring Individuals are also out there, doing amazing and inspiring things.
With that said, I love reading and sourcing positive energy from good people or continuing to develop ideas from my own experiences. During my journey, I have discovered many articles or individuals, who deserve mentioning for expressing their views, on bringing about change. Here are just two examples I found, both covering similar principles to what I’m trying to achieve here. Both are interesting reads.
Thanks for reading
I appreciate you passing by, and I sincerely thank anyone who spends a moment of their (valuable) time to read my latest Thoughts and Stories. I always write what I feel and my content always relates to the many topics, that seem to flow freely into my head.
In writing these short blog posts. It is always my intention to offer a humble opinion, but never to imply that I am right or have all the answers. That is not befitting of my personality, it is not my intention and I never really see myself as the ‘expert’. After all, the world is full of them already!
Merely, I act on my own experiences, follow my instincts and hopefully, if my ‘Thoughts and Stories’ resonate with you, then that naturally makes me happy.
Thanks for reading. Get outside, do something new and be happy!