HOW DEVELOPING SMALL, HAPPY HABITS CAN HAVE A BIG IMPACT
“Happiness” can hardly be considered happiness when it isn’t shared with others. ~Charlotte Brontë
Habits are a human habitual activity that may be either beneficial or bad, and they can either bring us pleasure or sadness. They are a double-edged sword.
We have all heard about the significance of developing positive and productive routines, as well as the steps necessary to choose and implement these routines. On the other hand, I just just read an article that said how healthy and productive behaviors do not, on their own, inevitably result in excellent health or genuine success. There is much to consider here.
According to what I’m reading right now, happiness seems to be just as vital to one’s well-being and prosperity as one’s choice of lifestyle, and that happiness alone may truly lead to a positive life in health, intellect, and spirit. This is something that I find very interesting.
There are certain things in life that we just have no choice but to do at certain times. They are only unpleasant but essential errands, and they cause neither pain nor pleasure. Why not lessen the burden by engaging in a few simple behaviors that make you happy?
When I was in my early twenties, I recall that going to the supermarket was a source of unhappiness for me for many years. It seemed like an arduous and pointless task to me.
Just walking inside the market was enough to make me feel like I was drowning in information.
The excessively bright lighting, the constant onslaught of horrible music that is only broken by the even more loud announcements, the multiplicity of options (just shop the perimeter), interpreting the ingredients and nutrition data labels (would the genuine food please stand out? ), the comparative shopping jobs (the mental math matters), the crowds and their carts (to navigate around), having to repeat the clerk time and time again that I didn’t want paper or plastic (I brought ’em and I’ll bag ’em)
In addition, I remember feeling bad (which is an issue of the first world, right?) as I was grocery shopping. I was a wealthy person living in the first world with really, not approximately, more than enough money, free time (from job), and access to nice food; nonetheless, I detested the need of going grocery shopping. It made me feel quite miserable to think about it.
Now, I realize that this may seem to be a little issue, but give some thought to it. My enjoyment was being hindered by this one little behavior pattern. And there was no humor to be found in the situation. It was making me unhappy.
Is there anything that you have to do every day or even once or twice a week that you’d rather not do but that you feel obligated to do? Is it possible that there are many of these somethings?
Which better describes your day-to-day life: days filled with happiness interspersed with moments of sadness, or days filled with sadness interspersed with moments of happiness? Would you choose to make your life happier if there were straightforward and uncomplicated methods to do so?
Even if the happy gene accounts for around half of our innate capacity for happiness, there is still a significant portion of the other half (which may be full or empty depending on the genes you inherit) that you have the ability to develop and improve.
Optimists, drink up! Also, pessimists, make sure you don’t dehydrate yourself! Develop cheerful routines consisting of small, manageable steps.
1. Identify a quick and easy routine that brings you joy.
First things first, all you need to do is decide that you want to be happy. Would you wish to bring a little joy into the world, both for yourself and for others around you? Simply keep your purpose in mind at all times. The next step is to develop a positive pattern of behavior.
In what ways may you and others around you find pleasure via your thoughts, words, and actions? What is it that would complement your character, who you are at your core, as opposed to working against you? Is there a skill you could hone that would make you forget how much time and effort it takes to do a certain task?
To make matters even better, choose a cheerful routine that calls for very little time and just a few easy efforts to begin with.
What about making an effort to crack a smile at everyone you talk to today?
How about we just keep it simple and say “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome”?
How about showing your gratitude to your employees or customers by sending an email?
Habits of happiness may be developed via the performance of many acts of beneficence, both toward oneself and toward others.
2. Devote some of your time to putting it into simple practice.
Is it something you can do whenever you want to over the course of the day? Do you need to be in a certain place or circumstance? Do you need particular instruments or components? Are you able to go on even when you’re exhausted? Don’t forget to make your joyful habit practice straightforward and uncomplicated.
I put up a timetable for practicing joyful habits in a manner quite similar to how I set up a program for practicing meditation.
I will remind myself through technological means. Sticky notes are posted, and lists are made. At the conclusion of each day, I make it a point to ask my spouse to check in with me.
I recognize that I am solely responsible for my own joy. In due time, I’ll be able to cultivate joyful routines regardless of where I am or what I’m doing, even if my eyes and heart are wide open.
3. Go acquire a pleasant habit study companion.
Participate in the joy that exists. Engage the assistance of a close friend or member of your own family. Unlock the joy in your heart. Create a short list of activities that make you happy as a group.
Share your thoughts. Sending a text message, email, making a phone call, or getting together in person is a great way to keep in touch with one another, exchange ideas, and motivate and support each other as you work to form new habits. Set a time to do something that will offer you and your partner a small bit of joy, and make it a date.
Are you ready for something even bigger? Participate in a group or club activity, or enroll in a class. What are some things that you have always been interested in learning more about and experiencing?
Have you ever heard of the practice of laughing yoga, also known as Hasyayoga? Laughter is something must be practiced, much like breathing, of course, but the focus here is on laughing just for the sake of laughing. Make your own habit of happiness infectious as well.
Keep a diary to yourself if you’d prefer not interact with anybody else in this process. Put a couple of minutes on the timer that you just set. Make a note of your joyfully simple objective. And think about the small, cheerful habits that you do every day.
4. Reflect on the tiny joyful habit you’ve developed.
Just take note of how you are feeling and pay attention to it. Is the practice of your joyful habit one that makes you uncomfortable or one that makes you comfortable? How difficult or simple is it? Do you do the ritual freely or are you forced to?
Simply put, do you experience joy when you’re doing it, both for yourself and for other people? If this is the case, you should continue to make it a habit. In such case, it’s time to choose something different, preferably something easier and more manageable. Begin at your current position.
Which of your joyful routines are you now engaging in? Within the next sixty minutes? When the day comes to a close? Start out with manageable objectives. Include new, happier objectives in your pursuits as your capacity for happiness endurance grows in tandem with your growing strength.
The majority of studies have shown that it takes around one month to form a new habit. Give your tiny happy routine a go for a month and gauge how much it adds to your overall happiness. You have nothing to lose except maybe a little bit of enjoyment, right?
5. Make a big deal out of the smallest of your pleasant routines.
Being happy oneself and spreading that pleasure to others is the ultimate objective, as well as its own reward. But keeping your sights modest at first and savoring even the little victories along the way can help you stick to the route that leads to a joyful habit. Encourage others to adopt your cheerful routines and spread the joy you’ve found.
Like laughing, joy may easily go from one person to another. Infect everyone you come into contact with. You’re going to have a smile on your face, hero or heroine.
Who could say? You may become happier, perhaps even healthier, and very perhaps richer and smarter by the adoption of a few easy and pleasurable behaviors.
In my experience, going to the supermarket to buy food has become a lot more enjoyable throughout the course of my lifetime. I make sure to have a joyful playlist of music with me, wear a happy hat to block out the lights, smile at and assist other people in the store, and even strike up conversations with them. I am grateful for the abundance that exists in my life. The wonderful and cheerful life continues.
Over the years, I’ve also developed a few new, simple rituals that bring me joy. Whenever I send a thank you card for somebody, there are occasions when I don’t really write anything on the card or the envelope itself.
My expression of gratitude is written on a post-it note, which I then affix to the inside of the card. On a separate topic, I would want to advise the individual to use the card and envelope that is right there in order to express gratitude to someone else today.
Spread joy by writing a comment in which you describe the small pleasures that bring you the most satisfaction and how you achieve them. We’d all appreciate it. Many thanks, and best wishes for joyful expressions!
