To find the essence and purpose of your life, sincerely answer two questions: “Why are you alive?” and “For what are you willing to die today?”
Develop the ability to observe your emotions with intellectual distance, separating yourself from your feelings to gain control over your reactions and choose appropriate responses.
When experiencing unwanted emotions, consciously choose and substitute a more appropriate emotion from your repertoire, like making a joke or practicing gratitude, to shift your state.
Regularly write down five things you are grateful for, especially on Sunday nights, to move positive thoughts into your conscious mind, counteract negativity bias, and increase overall happiness.
Shift your focus from external idols like money, power, pleasure, and fame to the virtuous pillars of faith, family, friends, and work that serves others for true, science-backed happiness.
Understand that true satisfaction comes from the progress and struggle towards accomplishing a goal, not just the arrival at the goal itself, so embrace the challenging journey.
Recognize that negative emotions like anxiety and pain are normal and necessary for survival, learning, and growth, rather than viewing them as signs of being broken.
To transform fleeting pleasure into lasting enjoyment, always add other people you love and consciously create memories during the experience.
Incorporate sharing into your spiritual practice, as life is better when shared and it increases your own enjoyment and the happiness of others.
If you find yourself repeatedly seeking pleasure alone to cope with negative emotions, disrupt this cycle by intentionally adding a loved one to the experience.
When something bad happens, analyze it objectively like a scientist to learn and grow from the experience, rather than ruminating on it.
Keep a journal to write down and analyze bad experiences or disappointments, using them as opportunities for learning and growth by engaging your executive brain.
If you attain worldly goals like money, power, pleasure, or fame, ensure they serve as intermediate steps to enhance your faith, family, friendships, and service to others.
Understand that happiness is a direction, not a destination, and continuously work towards becoming happier rather than expecting a permanent state of perfect happiness.
Get up before dawn and walk for an hour as the sun rises, without devices, to foster discernment, connect with a spiritual element, and gain perspective on your life’s meaning.
Take walks in nature, possibly barefoot, to experience a profound physiological impact, reduce stress, and connect with a sense of awe and peace.
Approach your life with the same seriousness and strategic planning as you would a business startup, managing your internal state like a P&L statement.
Donate a few dollars to givedirectly.org/happiness to provide direct cash assistance to people in Kabobo, Rwanda, allowing them to improve their lives.