Comedian Louis C.K.’s is famous for his jokes about disgruntled technology users and the fact that “everything is amazing right now and nobody’s happy.”
While not everything is amazing, it’s easy to miss the good stuff when bogged down by a busy life.
There are many ways to add joy and satisfaction to life, but we recommend these three options because they’re amplifiers. That means that you get the benefit of each approach and those benefits cultivate a life that welcomes more joy.
You can use these three simple steps all year round, when life is amazing or even when your Wi-Fi is slow.
- Say yes to sleep
Sleep is an essential component of many bodily functions – it improves immune function and helps you maintain a healthy weight if you get enough but if you get too little sleep, you’re at greater risk for obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
While those are important long-term issues to consider, it’s the immediate affects that can tone down the joy: it’s actually harder to process emotions and recognize social cues without enough sleep. That’s a fancy way of saying too little sleep makes you grumpy.
If you’re tired of losing your cool for no good reason, go to bed early tonight and build up to 7-9 hours per night.
- Say no to worrying
Worrying is “to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts.” It’s hard to inject joy into life—yours and the lives of people you love—when part of your day is spent tormenting yourself.
Worrying leaves you stressed and anxious—which also causes wrinkles—and can turn a good life into a disaster using only the power of your mind. But no need to worry about worrying because it can be overcome with practice.
HelpGuide.org suggests 5 ways to stop worrying including challenging your worried thoughts with questions like, “What’s the evidence that this worry is true?” and, “What’s a more positive way to look at this situation?”
As Bobby McFerrin sang, don’t worry, be happy.
- Say thanks
The science is in: Expressing gratitude makes people happy, improves resilience and builds relationships. And it’s not hard to do, though it might feel awkward if you’re out of practice.
Start with a gratitude journal and write down three things you’re grateful for each night before you get your stress-busting eight hours of sleep. Next, practice expressing your gratitude to the person you appreciate.
Research from Martin Seligman, a leader in the positive psychology movement, indicates that writing and sending a gratitude letter to someone delivers a boost of happiness that lasts a whole month!
While some might say happiness is more complicated than sleeping more, worrying less, and being grateful, we think you’ll be pleased with the results.
We’re here to help. If you think a relaxing massage will help you sleep like a baby, ease your worries, or give you that thankful feeling, give us a call.
And one more thing: Thanks for reading. We appreciate it.
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