5 tiny habits for a happy life
Being happy is a state where the mind feels pleasure and contentment at the same time. This is the state where the brain experiences stillness and yet motivated. While happiness is relative, few things are universally true.
“Happiness comes from standing on our promises”
- No Snooze in the morning:
First things first- before sleeping, if you tell your brain when you need to wake up, it listens without you having to use an alarm. All that matters is the intensity at which you tell your brain. If you hit the snooze button on your alarm, you are committing the biggest mistake of that day. You are not standing by the promise you made the previous night. When your brain gets used to breaking promises at the beginning of the day, the rest of your day goes in a similar way.
“Happiness comes from being balanced”
2. “Surya Namaskara” or Sun salutations each day:
Sun salutations are the easiest way to start yoga. Yoga is “union” with nature. Doing 5 sun salutations hardly takes about 10 minutes. Yoga brings balance between right and left, noise and calm, hot and cold, aggression and peacefulness, movement and stillness, right and wrong, chaos and clarity. The great thing about yoga is that there is no equipment required and you can do it anywhere and at any time.
“Happiness comes from having a sense of control”
3. Revisit your finances regularly:
As a thumb rule, the money you earn depends on the output you produce. Many factors contribute to the output- skills, talent, risk-taking ability, negotiation skills, the time that you spend on work, etc. Most people are good at creating output and as an extension, at earning money. But they often fail at managing this money. People fall into a debt trap because of spending more than they earn, overestimating future earning ability, and not saving for unexpected expenses. The secret to living a debt-free life is to earn, save and spend only as required. Money that is saved can be invested for better returns. It is a good practice to maintain a monthly record of money that is with you in bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds etc. This gives a sense of where we stand and helps in making financial decisions. For example, if the money balance in a month drastically dropped, say, in a month like March 2020, where stock markets collapsed across the world, you would not go to purchase a new car.
“Happiness comes from having clarity in direction”
4. Plan your daily schedule at the starting of the day:
Decide what are the two to three things that you would definitely like to achieve that day. Plan your day in such a way that those tasks are prioritised, in addition to your daily activities. When you are done with the day, if you did not complete a task you were supposed to, and if you still think it is mandatory, make sure it is the first thing you do the next day. There is no need to beat yourself up for not finishing it.
Planning and failing is better than failing to plan.
Planning gives you some clarity and direction. If someone comes up to you during your day, you have now know whether to take that task up right away or to politely say “No” for that day or a “Yes” for another day.
“Happiness comes from experiencing and accepting the new”
5. Something new every day: Learning new things, experiencing new environments or reading something new create new connections and form new neurons in the brain. Learning and experiencing new things could land in a better job or in better relationships, but more importantly, learning releases dopamine which is a happy hormone. Learning also kills boredom. It is not just about reading books, it is also about ravelling, meeting new people, picking up a new hobby (like painting, dancing, singing), playing a new sport or discussing topics that we mostly had a single view of (for example religious and political matters).
