It is a natural tendency of the human being to try to reach happiness. Some of us look for it in money, the love and acceptance of others, having fame, or being successful at something. I agree that all these things are necessary to reach our maximum potential, but this does not guarantee happiness.
In my opinion, happiness is not an object that you can find in a treasure chest, but it is the result of having a balanced lifestyle. I do not consider myself a guru of happiness, however, I do my best for doing the practices, that help me to enjoy the life that I have.
1. Be grateful: It is easy to get used to the things and people around us and take them for granted. However, being aware of them and having a grateful attitude can help us to feel more positive about life, create stronger relationships, and overcome difficult situations more easily.
The founder of Praxis, Isaac Morehouse has a Podcast called Forward Tilt. In one of his episodes, he talks about the importance of writing thank-you notes. He explains how doing this exercise continuously, helps you to expand your mind, look at the world more positively, and become a more empathetic person.
In this link you can find the episode: Look for excuses to write thank you notes.
2. Try to have a healthy lifestyle: As we have heard before, when we do physical activity, our body releases endorphins. It is a chemical that our brain uses for fighting stress. This substance reduces the discomfort of exercise and can produce a feeling of euphoria. Daily exercise does not only help us to be in a happy mood, but it also contributes to our overall health, which allows us to do more enjoyable activities.
3. Have resilience: Life is also made up of challenging moments, and having the ability to overcome them is crucial. Keeping a positive mindset, being able to appreciate the good things we have in the middle of the troubles help us to close cycles, and being ready to open new ones.
4. Be present and fully enjoy moments: Many people think that when they grow up and become independent, they are going to be happy, later they think that when they get married, have kids and buy a house, happiness is going to knock at their door. They can spend years waiting for it, and it never comes. The reason is that they do not realize that they already have everything for living a full life. They could be happy today if they made that decision at this exact moment.
Overall, we can choose happiness as a lifestyle and not just as a temporal feeling; this does not mean not to experience sadness, anger, or other types of emotions. However, enjoy our days in spite of the up and downs that we find in our journeys.