Live Happy continues to be your guide on your journey to finding authentic happiness.
In 2013, Live Happy launched with a mission of promoting and sharing authentic happiness through education, integrity, gratitude, and community awareness. As we celebrate our eighth-year anniversary this month, we are continuing to bring the happiness movement to you by keeping you informed on the science of happiness and well-being as well as providing you with the tips and tools to live a flourishing life.
Founded in 2013 by veteran entrepreneur Jeff Olson and CEO Deborah Heisz, Live Happy has accomplished many milestones over the years, including being the first mainstream lifestyle magazine based in the science of positive psychology, the opportunity to address the United Nations on the importance of happiness, multiple industry awards and garnering more than 1 million downloads of our Live Happy Now Podcast.
While we are certainly proud of everything we have achieved (and achievement is important to happiness), it’s not so much what we have done that is important, it’s what we have learned over the years. We have taken the science of happiness out of the halls of academia and shared it with you.
Here is a list of happy practices you can do every day to make your world a happier place:
Be Kind
Kindness is the goodness glue that holds us all together. When we practice kindness, we are telling others that they matter. Kindness is also associated with other important character strengths, such as gratitude, leadership and love. It takes very little to make someone’s day a little brighter. The next time you see someone, try viewing them through kind eyes and less judgment. You don’t even have to be verbal about it. You can just wish them well within the confines of your own mind. Of course, random acts of kindness are great, too, because it creates a ripple effect of niceness that spreads happiness.
Be Grateful
Practicing gratitude is more than just saying, “thank you,” it is a mindset of thankfulness that is quite possibly the magic elixir to happiness. According to science, when practiced regularly, gratitude can improve your mental and physical well-being. Gratitude strengthens relationships, improves life and work satisfaction and increases happiness. Once you get into a groove, it can even keep those happy vibes going for weeks and even months. Best of all, gratitude doesn’t cost a thing, so the emotional investment is well worth the return.
Be Humorous
Humor is a strength that literally lightens your mood. That’s what it is designed to do. Humor brings out a playfulness that eases our stress and lets us know we are in a safe place. What’s more, a good belly laugh can release all the happy hormones in your body, such as oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine and serotonin, and opens up the reward centers in your brain. You don’t even have to be inherently hilarious to benefit from humor, you just have to look for the funny. Studies also show that you can even fake your laughter and you’ll still get the same benefits. Eventually, your fake chuckles will turn into real bonafide yucks. Don’t believe us, give it a try. We’ll wait.
Be Resilient
The global pandemic has surely tested our mettle. Stress levels have been pushed to a tipping point, isolation has made us lonelier and many have experienced extreme grief from losing loved ones to COVID-19. If there was ever a time in your life when you needed resilience, it’s now. Resilience is the ability to persevere through adversity, no matter what obstacles stand in your way. People who rely on resilience find hope in dire situations, view setbacks as challenges and not a failure and oftentimes end up being stronger for having prevailed. If you are a resilient person, then odds are that you have overcome adversity in your life and have developed the skills to get you through it.
Be Happy
The most important lesson we have learned at Live Happy is that happiness truly is a choice. While it does take work, you can choose the happiness you want in this world. Happy people find more positive outcomes in theirs lives, enjoy higher life satisfaction, find more success at work, and are generally healthier. We at Live Happy have spent the last eight years giving you the information you need to live a happier life. We will continue to do so because whether you are living in a small village at the end of the earth or in a large booming metropolis, we believe everyone deserves more authentic happiness in their lives.
For more on our conversation about what we have learned about happiness, check out our latest podcast on Live Happy Now.
