The Habits of Happiness

‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.’ ~Dalai Lama By Leo Babauta I’m not one who believes you can be happy all the time, but I have learned you can be happy much of the time. And that’s not something that depends on how your day is going or how others treat you — it depends on what you do on a regular basis. I remember being unhappy most days, at one point in my life. It wasn’t because I hated the people in my life — I had a lovely wife, great kids, other wonderful family members and friends. It was because I was unhappy with myself, and that caused growing debt problems, unhappiness with my job, health problems and more. I felt like I couldn’t change any of that. Then one day I sat down and made a list. I make a lot of lists — it’s one of my favorite habits — but this list seemed to have a magical power. It was a list of the things I was grateful for. Amazingly, there were a lot of things on the list, from things about my wife, kids, relatives, and friends, to things about my job, about nature around me, about my life. This list was magical because I went from feeling a bit depressed about everything, and hopeless and helpless, to much happier. My mindset shifted from the things I didn’t like or didn’t have, to the things I was really happy I had. And I was in control. Since then I’ve experimented with a number of habits and have found a couple thin...
Source: Zen Habits - Category: Life Coaches Authors: Tags: Habits Happiness Source Type: blogs