What is a happy life? How to find happiness? Let’s check if my thoughts go with yours.
By: Arghya Ghosh
Tags: Happy Life, Success, Happiness, Happy, Positivity

What is a happy life? How to find happiness? Let’s check if my thoughts go with yours. Arghya Ghosh Apr 27·9 min read

Happy life means when you are positive, not stressed, and fully satisfied with your life. But wait, what makes a happy life? How to be happy in life always? The answer varies on different minds. Having a jaw-dropping wealth or enough time does not mean one has topped the happiness index. Someone may be working tirelessly that brings a smile to that person’s face.

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

Let’s face it. Everyone wants to be happy and joyful all the time. But that is not possible because we all grapple with some kinds of hurdles. We are so stressed nowadays that everyday terms like ‘jovial mood’, ‘joyful life’, ‘happiness’ are gradually fading away.

Idea and perception of happiness may look different in different people. One can not deny that happy life has different definitions. Perhaps you are exhausted at the end of the day, lying in bed and searching for happiness on the internet. Probably you have found so-called known techniques too.

Now let’s understand these things.

1. Completing the difficult task first

I know we all are running behind work and trying to get some relief from that. But can you neglect your work? No matter how much you delay it, how boring it is one cannot escape it. Everyone is bound to work to make ends meet. Not all are completely satisfied with their work. Only a few of them are satisfied. However, if you rely on procrastination the incomplete task will gain more power to continue haunting.

It will gradually snatch your jovial mood and offer you immense distress. Some people are always in tension that they have to finish the work but are always distracted. They look for short time pleasures.

The only solution is to finish it anyway. Understand the fact that if you complete it fast without distraction, the invisible workload from your head will evaporate eventually. There will be no more stress and you will be happy.

2. Finding time for passion and hobby

Since the inception of fast internet, social media, OTT platforms we all have ditched our hobbies. Now you can argue that there are lots of storytellers, writers, artists on Instagram and other streaming platforms. If you look close you will discover there is more competition than expressing out. Where are we? Even our passion has become competition.

Put aside mindless social media scrolling or binging on exciting web series. Find at least half an hour to be engrossed in your passion- be it writing, drawing, dancing, singing, baking, cooking. I guarantee you will thank me later. When we indulge in more information our brain tends to clog. Creativity is emptying your brain to be a jovial person. It teaches us how to live a positive happy life.

However, it does not mean you have to break up with social media or binge-watching. Make a routine for everything. Twice a week is fine for your favourite shows and a maximum of one hour a day is acceptable for social media.

3. Making a habit of reading book

Well, this one is not mandatory though but if you don’t have a habit of reading a book you can try. No self-help book please, instead choose that page-turner romance, classic, thriller, erotica, or children’s book. The amalgamation of these genres may sound funny but choose one by one instead of buying all at a time. I was not a bookworm at all but always wanted to know the secrets of black words on white paper. My sister is an avid reader and I have been to a book fair. The aroma, ambiance made me fall in love with books.

When you read a book mindfully your concentration level increases. You become calmer and more relaxed. The stories let you create your imaginary world where you are the portrayer of protagonists and sequences. Reading a book before night also helps to sleep fast. I am saying this from my practical experience.

There is no hard and fast rule that you should complete lots of books in a year. Go with your own pace. The best time to read is going before bed. Start reading two to four pages only. If you are someone who cannot sleep without talking to your partner or indulging in social media or “late-night shows”, try convincing yourself and your partner. I hope it will pay you off.

The “used to be” voracious readers, please do not let your books pile up on the shelf and feed them dust. You will not call yourself a bibliophile if this continues to happen. Why don’t you bring back your old love and see the changes?

4. Not following everyday routes

We all go to work, school, college, or any other regular places using one way, preferably the shortest one. Even we come back home following the same route. Don’t we? Here is the trick. Try going to everyday destinations using different routes. If you think you will be late eventually, try taking other routes to come back home.

Now, this is not necessary for every day. You can do it two to three times a week or every alternate day. Maybe you discover an unknown place or even a shorter route in your locality and enhance the inner Columbus in you.

Photo by Ussama Azam on Unsplash

This works for me. I always used to go to school taking different routes every day. Even I return from work using the same trick, not all days though. This brings out the “happy life quotes” in me.

The reason is when you give the unknown and different task to your brain it triggers the chemicals and work better. Eventually, you will not suffer from the monotonous life.

If you are in a hurry or have something urgent at home then you can avoid the trick. Still, you can give it a try and see the changes.

5. Becoming close to nature

Imagine you are separated from your beloved parents. Or let say you are the parent and have no connection with your children. What will happen? How would you feel? You will feel dejected, meaningless, and depressed. The same thing happens with us. In today’s modern world we are so engrossed in digital life that we don’t have time to be with nature.

There is a certain reason why people call it ‘mother nature. No life will be there if nature chooses to ignore us. Everybody knows the consequences when human beings torture the environment. All lives are born from nature and final rites end in nature.

Try spending time in the garden, park, or any other lush green area. Trust me the cool breeze will soothe your body; the greenery will take the responsibility to relax your eyes and the chirping of birds can immediately eradicate stress.

You can indulge in gardening too. It is a proven stressbuster. When a person invests time in growing nature the ‘mother nature’ also helps to grow the person. When you will see you have yielded fruits, vegetables, or various flowers, happiness will touch the roof.

6. Helping the needy person

If you ask me “What makes a happy life?” I would first tell you to help a needy person. Now that does not mean that other mentioned points are useless. Not everybody has time, opportunity, or the ability to do these. But one can not avoid this fact.

I know lots of people will say they wish to but do not have time. Or they have no money, struggling with their own lives. These are true. But instead of calling a person ‘beggar’ and fobbing off one can easily donate a little amount of money or food. If you have more than that you can donate it too.

Remember one thing, if someone begs you on the street then be thankful that you are blessed with food, shelter, and clothes. A lot of unfortunate people are not able to afford that.

It is not mandatory to donate everything. Even a little help means a lot. Their smile, their thankfulness will surely make your day jovial.

Some people know this truth and create different organisations to spread a hand of help. If you are not one of them, try joining or donating something that will make someone happy.

7. Celebrating little wins

If you tell me to write a short essay on “how to live a happy life”, I would start writing about small victories in my life. Note the important keywords- “small victories”, “little wins”. You do not need something extraordinary to be an overnight star or enlist your name in Wikipedia.

Often people run behind big achievements and ignore the small wins in everyday life. It is significantly crucial to living a simple life and be happy. That does not mean one should not aim for the high, but it is important to pay heed to small details too. It can be anything like writing something, finishing a project in time, completing promised workout routine, scoring the highest mark in academics, winning a competition, and many more.

It will nip the stress in the bud and help you to achieve more in life.

8. Accepting imperfection

Personally speaking, I have lots of physical and mental health issues. Yes, I still have. I always compare myself with others. I have always craved long, thick hair and an attractive beard. But unfortunately, I have a patchy beard and recently facing male pattern baldness.

I always think why I don’t look like him, or he has a ravishing hairstyle whereas I do not have such. Eventually, I started looking for ways to fix myself. I spent uncountable hours searching and watching YouTube. Guess what the result is- zero.

I realised that some people are born with some traits and that can not be changed unless we spend lots of money on them. Yes, we can change something too such as weight loss, weight gain, hairstyle change, blemish-free skin, etc.

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

However, not everything will be in your favour always. That is why it is better to sort out which you can change and which you can’t. Focus on improving whatever change is possible and do not think about what is out of your worth. Look at the mirror, smile, and be happy that “you are only you and no one else”. Not everybody is perfect and accepting this imperfection will lead you to happiness, self-acceptance, and immense confidence.

If intense exercise is not your cup of tea, you can do yoga and meditation. Trust me, this works and not theoretical advice. Yoga, breathing exercise, and meditation clear blockages in our body and mind. From my personal experience, I can say that it is a miracle.

9. Practicing handwritten note

I am not talking about journaling. Yes, that is incredible but today maximum people write everything on digital devices be its to-do list, a note, a journal, and others. I agree it is convenient but don’t you think it snatches the speedy handwriting capability or calligraphy? Certainly yes.

From next time if you are free-write everything on paper. When we write with a pen the hand movements send special signals to our brain that helps us to work better and fast. No matter how the writing experience gets modern on digital devices, pen and paper will always have that aromatic charm.

If you don’t believe me, try doing it for a week and notice your cognitive ability. You will thank me later.

Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

10. Maintaining routine and break it occasionally

We all had a regular time until COVID-19 hit struck in our daily lives. The world is on the way to accept the ‘new normal’ but still, everyone is grappling with health issues, sleep issues, and routine issues. No one is on time for work, everyone is binging on TV shows. All these results in a messy life.

Right location, proper dress, mindful eating, and right sleep cycle is of utmost importance in this scenario. Admit it or not you will never feel satisfied not maintaining the stipulated routine. Something will continuously itch you and won’t let you sleep peacefully. I have also experienced that finishing work in time makes me a jovial person. You can give it a try too.

It is also important to break once in a while to get rid of monotonous life. No matter how much motivational speakers tell you to always maintain a routine, believe me, occasional outing, binge-watching, gorging on unhealthy food is completely fine.