By : Kristine Ramos
The world nowadays is composed with words like: Hurry. Busy. Work. Money. Responsibilities. Fitting in. In a busy world called planet Earth, people are slowly beginning to get fixated with just surviving instead of living.
It can be overwhelming. Moreover, the world is filled with evil, fear, and darkness. These dark entities that lurk around the corners can slowly creep up on you unsuspectingly. With the negativity that seemed to surround us in almost every day, one might think that happiness is unachievable.
But is it really?
We never know that happiness is just right around the corner. All we have to do is just reach for it a tiny bit by doing these:
1. Smile: A Simple Portrayal Of Happiness And Positivity
“Peace begins with a smile…”― Mother Teresa
When everything in your world goes out of control, you really can’t help but frown to express your inner turmoil. It stretches on and on until the irritation you were feeling turns into anger. Sometimes the emotion morphs into stress and even depression.
So what good does smiling do?
Smiling is just a little thing, you might think. That simple act is often underestimated. However, smiling has some drastic effects on your body, on your mood and on the people around you. One of the many benefits of smiling is that it makes you look attractive, open, friendly and likable. Smiling also serves as natural pain relievers by increasing endorphins in the brain.
The only adverse effect of smiling in the body is when you fake a smile. Faking a smile worsens your mood more than just freely expressing your dislike. So in order to get the good benefits from smiling, you must show a real smile. Think something pleasant and smile like you mean it.
To Do: Smile at strangers. It’s okay if they won’t smile back but if some smiled back at you, you can really feel that special warmth inside of you bloom.
2. Reminisce: Because The Simple Life From The Past Are The Best
If you are still having trouble in smiling, nothing makes you smile more than reminiscing. Taking a trip down the memory lane, even if the experience leaves a bittersweet taste in your tongue, improves happiness and self-esteem.
Most of the time, nostalgia is experienced when people are in a dejected mood. But don’t let it overwhelm you and break down. Don’t banish it just as quickly either.
There is more to nostalgia than just associating it with the bad memories of the past. Always bear in mind that there are also good underneath all that bad.
To Do:
Listen To Songs From Your Childhood
Listening to music from your childhood prompts the simplicity of life. Listen to it alone and maybe sing-along a bit or listen to it with a special someone, it will be an opportunity for the both of you to know more about each other to a whole new level. It will also make them meet the kid they never knew who grew up into someone they came love.
Keep In Touch With Old Friends
Reconnecting with your friends from elementary or high school days can really amp up the feeling of nostalgia. It will also be a happy gathering where all of you get to share past experiences as well as catching up with the current news on each other.
View Your Old Photos
You can recount and explore your early years again with your family. Appreciate the art that the past has painted in the canvas of your life. Make it a bonding/nostalgic leisure time. You might be surprised to know at some of the moments you couldn’t remember as a child that your parents and grandparents helpfully filled in.
3. Play… For Real: Forget Scores And Winnings And Just Enjoy
Playing your favorite video game can always boost happiness in your life. Winning a game can also trigger some positive thinking into winning at real life as well.
However, some often feel much worse because of the results of a game. Especially when they lose. It is actually bad for the health to stress over the loss of your game. A lot can come along when you are stressing so much at losing a game and none of them are good.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Games are not made to provoke and anger people. They are made for fun and relaxation, not adding more stress to our lives. So forget the scores, the winnings, and the in-game pressure and play… really play.
To Do: Play a game. Preferably one that is doesn’t have a timer but whatever floats your boat. Don’t mind the score. Don’t mind the time. Don’t mind the quests. Just play. Enjoy and have fun.
4. Embrace: Failures, Flaws, And Negativity
The world isn’t perfect so why should you try to be one? Simply ignoring the failures, flaws, and negativity in your life cannot be done. They will just stay there and haunt you. What to do about them? Simple. You acknowledge them they are there then let go.
Embrace emotions you deem negative such as sadness, fear, and anger. Embrace physical attributes you deem flawed such as your height, weight, and beauty. Embrace your failures such as getting rejected and messing up.
Embrace them, acknowledge them and… let them go. Begin to see them under a new light.
To Do: Let your negative emotions help you navigate life. Let your imperfect appearance be the mark of your uniqueness and no one else’s. Let your failures teach you the right way of doing things and let it urge you to improve.
An Old Age Saying: Happiness Is A Choice
Yes, happiness is indeed a choice that you make. There is always a choice. If you say that you are destined to be unhappy for the rest of your life, that is a choice as well. If you say that you had no choice that is a choice as well. You chose to not choose. Does that make sense?
There is always a choice. What people say that they didn’t have a choice is that they don’t want to face the consequences if ever they get to choose.
So if you ever wanted to choose. Choose a positive mental attitude towards life. Choose happiness. Choose life. Choose love. And choose the little things in life that make it worth living.
Author’s Bio: Kristine Ramos is an editor and health and wellness enthusiast. She loves reading and writing is her passion. She is a blogger by day and a gamer by night. She adores animals and if she isn’t reading or writing, she draws or plays video games. She mostly spends her time lounging around and reading a good book
