“ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU ARE AFRAID TO DO.”

  1 Own yourself. This means to accept and embrace your habits, your personality, the way you talk/look, your voice -- everything that makes you “you.” Remember that you’re a unique person who has value and is worthy of love and respect. Learning to be comfortable with yourself will help you project confidence to others and live a happier life. Don’t apologize for traits that are part of you, like your personality, your voice, or habits. If there are traits you want to change, make sure you’re doing it for you and not because you feel like someone else has told you to. Make your decisions based on your values, not what others have declared you “should” do or be.   Love your body. It’s unfortunate that in today’s world, both men and women are bombarded with images of how we’re “supposed” to look, dress, or behave. These stereotypical “ideals” can cause a lot of harm. (Over 91% of women, for example, feel unhappy with how th...

( Continued Part I ) 5 Determine your core values. Your core values determine how you think about yourself, your life, and the world around you. These beliefs guide your decision-making. They may be spiritual, or they may not, but they’re the things that are fundamental to how you look at life.   For example, “commitment to excellence” could be a value, or “dedication to family” or “belief in a higher power.” Whatever your values are, research suggests that when you aren’t living your life and making choices that are “value-congruent,” i.e., in line with your values, you’re likely to feel unhappy and dissatisfied. Research suggests that when you are consciously aware of your values, you’re more likely to act in accordance with them. Take a little time and reflect on what is most important and meaningful in your life. You can think about times when you felt happiest or most satisfied and what the common factors in those situa...

Happiness is not a simple goal but is progress as a result of striving, seeking, finding and keeping self-actualizing work and fun, even when it's as elusive as ever. Being happy often means finding satisfaction/contentment, feeling joyful, and sensing that your life is meaningful. Nobody is jolly and elated all the time, but some individuals are definitely more fulfilled than others. Method 1: Developing a Happy Outlook     Change your soul (spirit). People have an unfortunate tendency to lock on to remembering negative experiences but forgetting the positive ones. However, thanks to adaptability (neuroplasticity), you can actually change the way your soul functions. You can train your soul to be happier.   Practice mindfulness. Occupy your mind with positive thoughts and humming a tune, for happy effects on the mind and body. Focusing on your experiences in the present moment without judging them can help you become more compassionate to yourself and...