1. CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY Happiness is a choice. It doesn't happen by accident. You decide every day whether you are going to be happy. Nothing outside of yourself can change that unless you choose for it too. Be positive about yourself and your life. Don't let issues or problems alter your happiness for that day. Treat every day as a gift that you may not get tomorrow and make the most of it. Make every day the best day of your life. "For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
2. STOP WORRYING If you have the resources to fix something, then fix it, otherwise, stop worrying about it. Worrying never solved anything. All it does is inhibit your happiness. So do what you can when you can for who you can and let the rest take care of itself. "Worrying is like paying a debt you don't owe."
3. CHANGE NEGATIVE THINKING We are our own worst critics sometimes. When our inner critic raises his head, push it back down, and tell it to shut up and sit down. Beating yourself up does not solve the issues or complexities in your life, nor do they contribute to the solution. If anything, those negative thoughts hold you back and keep you from your happiness.
4. FORGIVE AND FORGET Holding onto a grudge does nothing to fix a bad situation and only reminds you of the hurt. Holding onto a grudge just hurts you over and over again without actually changing the person who hurt you. Let it go and move on with your life. Stop dwelling on those old hurts and let them heal with time. Forgiveness is a sweet gift of freedom for yourself, and not necessarily for the other person.
5. BE GRATEFUL:No matter how little you have or how much you think your life sucks right now, there are always things to be grateful for. Find those things and embrace them as your life depended on them. Recognizing things in your life that are good, beneficial, or that make you happy and accepting them will raise your happiness level. When you are grateful, you do not dwell on that which you lack but on that which you have in abundance.
6. MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS Money can buy you pleasures but not happiness. Pleasure is temporary and does not fill that hole inside. No amount of money can replace true happiness and contentment. Chasing money is an endless race with no finish line. Focus less on what you can't have and more on what you do have.
7. BUILD FRIENDSHIPS Friendships are the bedrock of real happiness. They will lift you up when you can't get up yourself. Together you all can achieve what none of you can achieve alone. Build on existing friendships and cultivate new ones. Find friends you can talk to and do things with. A single stick can be broken but a bundle of them cannot. Find strength and resilience together and you can never be broken.
8. TAKE PART IN MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES Stop sleeping on the couch all the time and go do something worthwhile with your time. If it was your last day on Earth, would you really want to catch up on a television show? Go do something new, go find your own adventure. Go venture into nature and enjoy the beauty of this life.
9. DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS Social media only shows you the highly cherry-picked aspects of someone's life. You never really get to see the other side of the daily grind. Stop comparing yourself to other people's highlight reels. Go out there and make a highlight reel of your own. Go do things that make you feel happy not what you think other people will think is awesome.
10. BE KIND TO OTHERS: Be kind to others and they will be kind to you. Bring happiness to someone who needs it and you will find yourself sharing in their happiness. Happiness is contagious and you could be a carrier if you really wanted to be. So go spread some love. There is a rewarding feeling of gratitude when you do things for someone who doesn't expect them.