#12 Keep moving

Have you ever noticed that you feel great after going to the gym or for a run?

The vast majority of have shown that there is an important link between exercise and mental well-being and improved mood.

The researchers of these studies consistently found that exercise has a positive impact on mood. It has been demonstrated that physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins, the “feel-good” chemicals in the brain. Some researchers think that exercise also acts as a diversion from negative thoughts. Also, some researches show that the social interaction taking place in some types of exercise, like team sport for example, contributes to a greater personal satisfaction and therefore a mood enhancement.

Something we don’t know is that exercise has also been studied as an alternative treatment to antidepressant medications and therapies used for depression; and it was concluded that exercise has an important clinical impact on depression.

Now to keep convincing you of the benefits of exercise, there are 16 reasons why exercise makes us happy:

1)    Increased dopamine in the brain (feelings of pleasure and happiness)

2)    Lower anxiety and depression (achieve long term relief)

3)    Energy boost

4)    Stress reducer

5)    Slow down cognitive decline

6)    More self confidence (feel a great sense of accomplishment)

7)    Be more social

8)    Get better sleep (improve sleep quality)

9)    Be more creative (better mood = creativeness)

10)  A more productive you

11)  Memory booster (increased memory capabilities)

12)  Be more relaxed

13)  Better coping skills

14)  Gets addiction under control (helps in addiction recovery)

15)  Enjoy the great outdoors

16)  Increase your brain power (good cardio can help to create new brain cells)

Lastly, some practical tips for exercise: try to engage at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, try to vary the type of exercise you do and choose activities you enjoy, and keep in mind that even if you cannot do high impact workouts there are plenty of low impact activities such as biking, walking or even swimming !

SO REMEMBER TO KEEP MOVING NOW !

#11 Smile more often

Smiling more is a really simple way to live happier in your life. All you have to do is smile, and life will be better, really. It’s that simple. Smiling is the natural way to unconsciously force yourself to be happy. Smiling is very efficient and powerful, but many of us unfortunately use it less and less as they grow older, even though they need happiness more than ever before.

Latest research shows that our emotions like happiness aren’t just happening all in the brain. Parts of your body like your mouth can influence and reinforce your feelings.

Researchers think that by forcing a smile, you activate a specific set of muscles in the face which is closely connected to the emotions of happiness and joy. By smiling, you are signalling the emotional centres of your brain to tell them that everything is good.

Last thing you should remember: happiness leads to smiles but smiles also lead to happiness.

SO SMILE!

#10 Try new things

Experimenting and trying new things can boost your happiness in many various ways.

First of all, it can simply provide fun activities you can enjoy and which are obviously good for a certain type of happiness.
Then it can lead to learning new things and playing on curiosity that is also known to be good for happiness and wellbeing. 

Lastly, it can boost what psychologists call « self-efficacy » which means that people can come to the realisation that "if I can do this one thing then how many other things can I do?"... This type of confidence can be VERY GOOD for you’re your happiness and self-confidence.

If you want to become a happier person you should not be afraid to push your boundaries and try new things. It was proven that people who engage in a variety of experiences are more likely to retain positive emotions than people who have fewer experiences. 

By going beyond your comfort zone, you might actually surprise yourself and exceed your own expectations for what you are capable of doing. 

So why not trying something new?

#9 Live in the moment

It is clearly impossible to appreciate your present life if you spend most of your time regretting the past and fretting the future. Living in the present moment is the key to true happiness!

Life seems to slow down and become more manageable when you begin living fully in the present moment. You'll also find more energy -both physical and mental - when you stop to constantly micromanaging your mind.

Imagine waking each new morning filled with the excitement of not knowing exactly what the day will hold. Sure you may be going to your regular job and engaging many of your regular activities, but because you live in the moment there is no sense of turmoil or subtle resistance wearing you down.

And throughout each day, imagine the freedom you'll feel as you find and follow the flow of life. Rather than trying to talk yourself through every waking moment you will be listening to your intuition and acting according to your inner guidance system.

Never mind anything that has happened before right now. And let go of anything that might happen at a later time!

The author, Henry Miller once said “ Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognise it as such.” The only moment in which we can truly be happy is the present moment. The only moment over which we have control is the present moment. So be happy now! Because if not now, then when?

#8 Think positive

A famous quote of the Dailai Lama is: “See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort.” 

I have to admit that it is quite easy to fall prey to negative thinking. Having negative thoughts can only bring you pain, something that everyone has experienced many times throughout their life. 

Negative thoughts drain you of energy and keep you from being and enjoying the present moment. The more you give in to your negative thoughts, the stronger they become. A small negative thought can become a huge and ugly problem. Similarly, a small positive thought can have the same effect blossoming into a beautiful outcome.

When we start to have negative thoughts, it’s difficult to stop them. And it’s much easier said than done to shift your focus to positive thoughts. But it’s the only way to avoid going down a painful and unnecessary path.

The most important thing is to change the tone of your thoughts from negative to positive, it's not as hard as we think. For example, instead of seeing things as issues to solve it would be positive to see it as challenges to overcome.

A little thing that surprisingly works is to place some post-it with positive quotes or sentences on the fridge, mirror, computer, where you can see them everyday, to keep in mind to stay positive.

#7 Travel

Travel is good for lots of things, but it can also increase your well-being - and sometimes in the long-term. Whether you are traveling for business or with your family, traveling can make you a happier person by building self-confidence, providing new experiences and memories, breaking routine and allowing you to meet people from very different places.

You can become more self-confident as traveling can make you deal with unexpected situations.

Even if you're the kind of person to plan things to the letter and by advance, things can take a surprise turn. Whatever happens, there is a way around the problem and knowing that you can deal with these situations is a big boost to self-confidence and your happiness.

Also, being away from things we often take for granted -family, close friends, home- makes us appreciate them more. Calling home becomes something to look forward to: your parents would be more than happy to hear about your travel stories.

Making new friends become easier as people are more open to talk to strangers on a bus or strike up conversation in a bar for example. When people are away from home, there seem to be less boundaries to cross, strangers can become your friends whether it’s a local curious to know where you’ve come from or travellers keen to have someone with whom to share a taxi. Social interactions make us happier and increasing our social circle allow us to learn more.