Four Proven Techniques to Increase Your Happiness

Have you ever thought about what you could do to make yourself happier? If so, you’ve found just the right article! Finding happiness isn’t as difficult as you may think. There are a lot of things you can do to help you increase your enjoyment of life and be happier.

So, let’s walk through four techniques that put people at the top of their priority lists, treat themselves, and make them happier.

1. Progress Over Perfection

Do you think you could excel at everything you do? Of course, nobody can do that. So, the quest for perfection doesn’t make sense. Believing you can do your best is rational. Believing you have to be the best is not. So, find the incredible power that lies in the mindset that “it’s acceptable.” This mindset is commonly referred to as “progress over perfection,” and it’s a proven way to make you happier.

Everyone has some degree of perfectionist tendencies. But have you ever found yourself trapped in an idealist loop? This is one area some people require constant warnings about. Something can be done for anyone who’s caught up in this way of thinking.

Perfectionism focuses on others and what they will think. In contrast, healthy striving focuses on self and how you can improve. So, striving for perfection is not the same as self-improvement. At its core, perfectionism is about working to earn acceptance and approval. Most perfectionists grew up receiving praise for their performances and accomplishments, such as their good grades, impeccable manners, following rules, pleasing people, their appealing appearance, sports performances, and so on. But at some point, they adopted this debilitating and dangerous belief system: “What I am is what I achieve and how effectively I achieve it”—in other words, they must perform, please, and be perfect.

If this sounds like you, it’s time for you to change. And no, it won’t be easy. It may take years to overcome perfectionism, but it will get easier. When you’re aware of your old beliefs, you have a new belief at hand for whenever you feel like you’re going overboard. Here’s that new belief: “I am enough.” It’s simple, but it’s true. You are enough.

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this: Making the choice each morning to be happy shapes your surroundings instead of allowing yourself to be shaped by them. Striving for perfection will only overwhelm you with emotions until they spiral out of your control.

2. Simplify

Simplifying makes life easier and is a proven way to make people happier. Getting organized allows you to stop obsessing over the excess material things that get in the way of your happiness.

Start by eliminating the non-essential physical clutter in your life, beginning with the possessions you have that no longer serve you. Move on from the physical by paring down your goals to just one or two at a time. Give yourself a bit of breathing space by cutting back on time-consuming commitments.

Finally, reduce the amount of time you spend in front of screens. Being in front of screens all the time can monopolize your time and affect your life in ways you may never have thought of. To put it more simply, turn off, cut back, and tune out!

3. Be Thankful

So, you’ve faced up to your perfectionist tendencies and cleared out some physical and mental clutter. These are great steps, but what about the most powerful happiness catalyst of all time, which is guaranteed to make people feel happier? It’s just one simple word: gratitude!

Gratitude is at the heart of happiness. It’s the most powerful happiness heightener we have. So, if you want to stimulate an upward trend of happiness in your own life, gratitude is the simplest way to do it.

Appreciating the things in our lives is the easiest and most effective way to promote happiness level. Focusing on the positives and being thankful can be easier said than done, but it’s a habit that’s definitely worth cultivating.

4. Master your Mindset

Your greatest stride toward happiness is gaining mastery over your mind. You can keep this simple by making your goal to improve your mindset.

Mastering your mindset is not as complicated as it may sound. Total mastery likely isn’t possible for most people, but developing, growing, and evolving your mindset will yield many extra benefits you probably never thought you could reap. With a little effort, you can make your life better. And who could possibly say “no” to the offer of a better life?

Perspective is the key to mindset mastery. Don’t define yourself by your individual achievements and experiences. When your attitude shifts from viewing yourself as the things you do to simply being who you are, you’re performing an act of growth, maturity, and mastery. Try to find the silver lining in every cloud instead of assuming there’s a cloud hovering over every silver lining. When you master this, you’ll know that any setbacks are temporary, because you’re forever set on the road to improvement.

Any or all of the above methods will help you feel that you’re all you want to be and that you’re more satisfied with life than you’ve ever been before. Soon you’ll be seeing and experiencing everything you’re potentially becoming.

A final word of warning: nobody can be happy all the time. Seeking nothing short of sheer joy day in and day out is a recipe for disaster. The things we feel and think, and the decisions we make every day, are what make us happy. That’s all there is to it! Happiness in life is a perpetual pursuit.

Finally, encourage others by sharing this article with people you think want to be happier!