9 Ways to Turn Your Life From Unhappy to Joyful

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Do you start your day feeling so damp inside you just want to throw up? Or is it just the lack of confidence in yourself and you constantly feeling you’re not good enough?

Are you unable to find true happiness in yourself that you have to constantly seek it from external or maybe harmful sources?

Whatever it is you’re feeling right now, i promise you, happiness is within your reach if that is what you truly seek.

It’s true that life isn’t all fairytales and movies, but who says you can’t live your life like you’re in some fantasy dream world where it’s just laughter and joy?

I don’t mean you going around bursting into a song like you’re in a broadway musical or laughing at every little thing as if you’re in a sitcom show!

Everything in life can’t be perfect like in the movies but we alone decide if we want to stay happy or wallow in depression every time life knocks us down.

A lot of people make this grave mistake of making a thing or a person their source of happiness, which is a very bad idea i think for me. Some sought their happiness from their partners or even their pets and drown themselves in food and booze whenever they get disappointed.

Well except you’re a parent, i don’t think there’s anything else worthy of being your source of joy [to some extent]. You should learn to create your own happiness, not depending on an entity as your source of happiness

True happiness comes from deep within and it’s solely determined by our choices and habits, and experiencing it would forever be in our control.

How I Completely Transformed my Life From the Point of Absolute Depression to Peachy Happiness

It’s true that every one has their fair share of baggage and I’ve been struggling with mine for as long as i can remember, be it self-doubt, sadness or depression. And no matter how hard i tried to tuck away those feeling, it always finds a way to creep out back into my life.

When i didn’t know back then was that, if you try shoving down those feelings, it’ll just end up eating you up inside thus making you feel the worst you’ve ever felt.

So to get rid of those feelings, I had to let them go (set them free), because that’s the only way to let happiness into your life and stay put forever.

I know It’s easier said than done but there’s never success without effort, and to find true happiness, you have to put in a lot of effort.

How to Always be Happy

1. Never Underestimate the Power of a Smile

Believe me, smiling is a super power on it’s own. Whenever you’re sad, depressed or angry, form the habit of wearing a smile because when you do, it tricks your brain into thinking you’re in a happy mood and that in-turn would increase the release of endorphins and other mood enhancing hormones like dopamine which will eventually help in changing your mood to make you happy.

Also starting your day with a smile looking at the mirror and saying self affirmations can go a long way in making that day perfect for you, this is a psychological trick that works wonders.

Smiling has a lot of benefits and making you happy is a big part of it. So anytime you feel down, just wear a smile and i assure you, it will eventually change your mood.

2. Exercise Regularly

Most people ignore exercising but it’s a way of life to thread in. Regular exercising your body helps in reducing your stress level which in-turn reduce the chance of you falling into depression.

When people hear the word ‘Exercise‘, their heart skips. They think exercising means them running and running till they eventually gas out, and the next day, they won’t be able to get out of bed because of the soreness all over.

That’s exercising also but running isn’t the only form of exercising, they’re tons of exercise to choose from at your behest, so fear not.

Although running has it’s own benefits, I for one personally hate going on runs. The part that vexes me the most is when that nasty runners itch kicks in, Its so awful.

So i recommend doing any form of calisthenics apart from running, but if you prefer lifting weights, lift them. Whatever form of exercise you choose, just make sure it’s something you’re going to fall in love with and have great fun doing.

3. Eat Healthy

Every nutritionist on earth would tell you that eating healthy is the key to being happy, and they speak the truth. There’s a lot of psychological benefits to eating healthy meals and the ability to boost your mood is one of them.

Eating junk on the other hand is not advisable, taking in processed foods that are high in fat and sugar may make you feel good for a while but long term, research has shown that it has detrimental effect on one’s mood

Although no one is stopping you from eating your pizza’s and your burger’s, everyone has a sweet tooth including me.

But instead of gulping in that sizzling drink and that delicious slice of pizza, swap that with a bowl of low fat greek yogurt, some oats and some slice of strawberries and bananas. That ought to satisfy your sweet tooth.

4. Find Time for Fun

It shouldn’t be all work and no play for you, you should always have the time to have fun regardless of how busy your schedule is.

People say happiness and fun are not synonymous, but i assure you they are. Creating time for fun and having fun is healthy because when you have fun, you laugh, and when you laugh, you have a very slim chance of falling into depression.

There are numerous way to have fun. For example, If you’re not the type that likes going to public places like me, you can opt for going on a long walk listening to your favorite mix and taking in fresh air or stay at home binge watching those movies you’ve always wanted to watch. This is also a way of relaxing and having fun at the same time [Killing two birds with one stone].

5. Stop Procrastinating

People are highly ignorant to this, but procrastinating is actually the achilles heel of happiness. You can never be truly happy if you’re one that’s fond of procrastinating, because when you do so, you let fear cloud your decisions and it reduces your productivity.

To attain happiness, you’re going to have to stop procrastinating if you normally do. Stopping this behavior has proven to be very hard but to make it easier for you, try taking things step by step by doing the easy things first and then slowly moving to the harder ones.

[Read – How To Be a Sophisticated And a Classy Guy on a Budget]

6. Practice Gratitude

Numerous studies have shown that practicing the art of gratitude on a regular basis improves self confidence and decreases negative emotions which in-turn lifts our mood and makes us more optimistic.

So it’s highly encouraged to start your day by acknowledging the many things you’re grateful for. For example, after waking up in the morning, put your hands together and be grateful to the Almighty for giving you life and for sparing it to this day, and also be grateful for the many things he has done for you and always have faith that whatever patchy phase you’re going through in life, it’s just temporary and it’ll surely pass.

This might seem as just added work to you, but it does wonders, trust me.

7. Stop Dwelling in the Past

It is said that people who constantly dwell in the past would never know true happiness because every second they spend dwelling in the past is equivalent to missing out on an entire hour of creativity and productivity, which would slow down their progress and not let them move ahead in life.

When you dwell in the past [esp. when it’s negative], your mind is going to be stuck in some sort of a mental prison where your fellow inmates are fear, self-doubt, guilt and emptiness. And that’s never an environment you need to be in to achieve anything meaningful.

8. Don’t Hold Grudges

If you’re someone who hold grudges, don’t expect to be fully happy. Because when you hold a grudge, you allow the feeling of what happened in the past to stay fresh and grow into stronger negative emotions, and you’d become so wrapped up in that feeling that any effort you put in to be happy in that state would just prove to be futile.

So holding grudges with anyone or yourself would only lower your self-esteem and increase the feeling of hatred and emptiness in you, and if you don’t want to stay unhappy, never hold on to any negative feeling.

9. Be Kind

People who are kind hearted are always happy because not only is it a good practice, when they perform acts of kindness towards people, mood enhancing hormones like Endorphins and Dopamine are released into the brain, boosting your Serotonin, which lack of enough serotonin in the human system would lead to depression and anxiety which are the symptoms of unhappiness

(SEROTONIN – The neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of happiness and peace of mind in a person)

If you want to be happy, start indulging in kind actions like maybe complimenting someone or leaving a huge tip for your favorite waiter or even giving someone a hug, because trust me, you’re going to feel great after doing them [you get the gist right].

IN CONCLUSION, remember that life’s journey isn’t always perfect, and neither are we. But with these 9 ways on how to turn your life from unhappy to joyful, you have the tools to help navigate the ups and downs in your life and bring more happiness into your days.

So, take one step at a time, embrace imperfection, and let the pursuit of joy be your constant companion on this imperfect but beautiful path we call life.