If happiness has been elusive or hard to come by, then this is the post for you.
Learn to make happiness a habit that stays with you even on your hard days, and make it a more inherent part of your being.
Ever since Taylor Swift dropped her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, I’ve had Opalite on repeat.
In an interview, she explains that human-made opal is called opalite, and she uses it as a metaphor for making your happiness in the song.
If we can make something so shimmery and beautiful, we can make our own happiness, too, and sometimes we really need to.
What a beautiful, lovely, and life-changing thought.
Happiness these days can be elusive. Most days, you have to build it and work on making space for it in your life.
And since I’m a big believer that habits are the answer to almost everything, I wanted to explore this idea a little deeper and connect happiness to habits.
If happiness can be created, then maybe it’s not so elusive after all. Maybe it’s something we can practice, like a habit.
In this post, we’ll look at 10 real-life tips that will help you make happiness stick like a habit for you, no matter what’s going on in life.
Read on!
10 Ways To Make Happiness a Habit
1. Stop waiting for the right time to be happy
First and foremost, stop treating happiness as a prize or a life goal.
Thoughts like:
- I’ll be happy when I get a better job
- When I am in the perfect relationship, then I’ll be happy
- Once I have more money, I will definitely be happy
This trap of “One day I’ll be happy when…” never ends. Seriously!
Yes, those things will bring you great joy, and they should. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be happy right now, too!
Happiness is not finite. It is actually so abundant that you’d never run out of it in this lifetime, even if you were to use it every second.
These kinds of thoughts are what lead to a joy-scarcity mindset.
You need to start finding tiny good things in life right now —Your morning coffee, the way the air smells after rain, that one song that makes you feel like a movie main character.
Because the thing about milestones, success, and perfection is that there is always more to them. Once you do this, the next big thing comes up on your list.
But things that can make you happy today in your life are the real deal. They are real and true because they exist in the now!
So, turn to them and realize that every second, every moment, and every day is the right time to be happy.
You have absolutely zero reasons to postpone your joy.
2. Romanticize your boring days
I first got introduced to the concept of romanticizing two years ago. And I am serious when I say this, but my life has never been the same, and in a very good way.
If you don’t know what it means, romanticizing is about making your normal moments pretty and feel-good.
For example: Making your morning coffee with effort, pouring it in a cute mug, and sipping it in a cozy corner instead of gulping it mindlessly.
Just by putting a little more effort and care into your daily activities, you can give yourself main character energy.
Obviously, when, despite life’s challenges, you are able to create happiness in ordinary things, you will be happier than you would be normally.
So, yes, please. Make your life feel softer and more beautiful by romanticizing more.
Even if it’s a random Tuesday night, light a candle when having your dinner.
Put on your favorite playlist while cooking, listen to a podcast while doing laundry, and wear that perfume that makes you feel like you’ve got your life together.
Show up pretty for everyday life, create pretty around you, and you will feel pretty on the inside, too. And just like that, normal days won’t feel so normal anymore.
3. Complain less, notice more
Most of us don’t even realize how often we complain, but we do.
We complain about the weather, the traffic, our workload, or that one annoying person in our group chat.
It becomes such an automatic response that we start missing out on the good things right in front of us.
I’m not saying you should suppress your feelings, because a healthy vent is good for the soul. But constant complaining keeps you stuck in a loop of negativity.
If you break this habit, happiness becomes so much easier to access because you’re not blocking it off with your speech.
Whenever you catch yourself about to complain, take a deep breath and find something good to notice in that exact moment.
Notice the sunlight hitting your wall, the smell of coffee drifting from the kitchen, or the fact that your Wi-Fi didn’t cut out today.
Take the small wins and ditch the small issues. Your life and you are better off this way, believe me.
4. Move your body, both for fitness and feelings
It’s incredible how much movement can shift your mood. Like, seriously.
I started working out for weight loss initially, but now, I move every day because my brain needs the workout to stay sane and happy.
You know those moments when you feel mentally foggy or cranky for no reason? That’s often your body asking for movement.
You don’t have to be into heavy workouts or intense yoga. Even a five-minute stretch in your living room can release most of your tension.
Take your dog for a walk, dance while folding laundry, or walk barefoot on grass for a few minutes.
When you move your body, you’re not just improving your fitness; you’re giving your emotions an outlet.
All the stuck energy, stress, and worry that builds up inside you starts to flow again.
So next time you feel low, move. It might not solve every problem, but it’ll help you meet your emotions with more clarity and calm.
Happiness comes from a healthy balance of being still and moving, and exercise is an important part of the latter.
5. Do small things that make you proud
Just like we gatekeep joy from ourselves, we also don’t let ourselves feel proud enough. But the two things are so interlinked.
Feeling proud comes with satisfaction and a desire to reward yourself. You feel deserving of being happy and treating yourself to good things.
On your routine days, do little things that make you feel proud.
It could be as simple as finally cleaning that messy drawer, watering your plants, or keeping your promise to drink more water today.
Each of these things may seem tiny, but they’re proof that you’re showing up for yourself.
The feeling of being consistent, reliable, and capable is deeply fulfilling.
Every time you complete a small task, you’re strengthening your relationship with yourself.
And that’s one of the most powerful sources of happiness there is.
6. Protect your peace
I wish peace were something we all just had in spades, but the modern world makes it difficult to be at peace.
Peace doesn’t just appear nowadays; you have to protect it. So, do it, my friend.
Say no to things that drain you and step away from conversations that leave you exhausted. Stop giving time to people who mess with your mind.
Go ahead and unfollow accounts that trigger comparison and mute negativity.
Most importantly, be okay with missing out on certain things that don’t match your vibes. Embrace JOMO instead (the joy of missing out!).
If it costs you your peace, it’s too expensive.
Happiness can’t coexist with constant chaos. You can’t feel good when you’re mentally cluttered or emotionally overstimulated.
So, protect your peace the way you’d protect something precious, because it truly is.
7. Let yourself enjoy things without guilt
As we talked about earlier in the post, we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that happiness needs to be earned.
We believe that we can only rest, relax, or indulge once we’ve checked everything off our to-do list. But that’s such a trap.
You’re allowed to enjoy things simply because you want to.
You can drink that fancy coffee on a weekday, take an afternoon nap, or buy yourself flowers for no reason.
You don’t have to justify your joy or make it seem productive.
When you catch yourself feeling guilty for relaxing or doing something good, remind yourself that joy isn’t a reward. It’s a requirement. It’s fuel for your soul.
When you let yourself enjoy life more freely, happiness becomes your natural state instead of a once-in-a-while visitor.
8. Talk nicely to yourself
How you talk to yourself shapes how you experience life.
If your inner dialogue is full of criticism, comparison, and harshness, happiness doesn’t stand a chance.
But if you treat yourself with kindness, you start to create emotional safety within yourself, and that’s when true joy grows.
You’ve survived so many hard things, but you’re still showing up!
You deserve to be spoken to with warmth, especially by the person who spends the most time with you, which is you.
So, pay attention to that inner voice. Is it being a jerk, or is it being a friend?
Talk to yourself like you would talk to someone you love, because you deserve that softness, too.
9. Give happiness away
One of the easiest ways to make happiness a daily habit is to pass it on.
I shall remind you again that happiness is not a finite source; there is plenty of it to go around and never end.
And weirdly enough, the more joy you give, the more you feel it.
Here are some ways you can give away happiness:
- Send a kind message
- Compliment a stranger
- Offer help without expecting anything in return
- Smile at someone on the street
- Bring small presents when you visit someone
- Help your neighbor when they need it
Small acts of kindness like these are contagious.
When you show someone joy and kindness, they feel touched and happy too, which would prompt them to treat others similarly.
And somehow, the joy you give away always finds its way back (even if not immediately, eventually it always does).
10. Remember that happiness is built, not found
This last tip is more of a reminder, but a very important one that will make all the difference.
You might have heard the phrases ‘finding happiness’ or ‘pursuing happiness’.
The intention behind these phrases is meant to be positive, but it can leave you feeling a little lost.
To be happy, you don’t need to set out on a journey or make an effort to ‘find’ it.
In my head, I think of happiness as a cup of coffee. You make coffee at home or go at a cafe for it, right? You don’t find it pre-made lying somewhere.
Just like that, you don’t need to find happiness. You just need to create it.
Ah, she says it as if it’s so easy.
No, at times, it’s not, and that’s the whole point of this post. You won’t just wake up one morning and find yourself magically happy forever.
You need to turn it into a habit and start making some effort to create it in your life.
Some days, it’ll come easily. Other days, you’ll have to dig a little deeper for it. But that’s okay.
Take your time, but show up for yourself and your happiness every day. It’s worth your time and energy. It’s worth everything!
Let’s Make a Habit of Being Happy
Smile at strangers, take breaks, say thank you more, watch sunsets, and treat yourself kindly.
It’s the ordinary moments that make a happy life, and you can start right now.
Go do something good for yourself right now.
Put away your phone and create your happiness with a cup of coffee, a glass of water, a nice meal, a slow walk, or a soft song that makes you feel things.
And let me know in the comment box what you’re going to do. Writing it down helps!
Read next: 5 Best Things I Did To Improve My Mental Health
Thank you for reading the post till the end. You’re amazing, dear reader. Have a good day (or night) ahead!
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