9 Effective Habits For A Happy Life

Ever wondered how to lead a happy life? A set of good habits might just do the trick. Studies have shown that our habits, even the little ones, lead to a generally happy life.

Why are habits important?

Our brain has its own method of preserving energy. As such, it attempts to automate our actions.

Our brain will ingrain repetitive actions in its system, making them routine. When our actions become routinary, our brain uses less energy for the decision-making process. Thus, energy is conserved.

Energy that can be used for other tasks such as learning new things.

With this, we can conclude that habits are important. In fact, according to a Duke University published research in 2006, more than 40% of people’s actions each day were due to habits and not active decision-making.

It is important to note, however, that the brain cannot distinguish between good and bad habits. That is entirely your responsibility. So, while developing habits is paramount, developing the right ones is even more crucial.

The word to remember here is “develop.” That is, you have the ability to change your bad habits and replace them with good ones. Good habits that will help you live a happy life.

What are effective habits to develop?

The general description of a habit is that it is an automatic action. This is developed through numerous repetitions of an activity. An example of a habit is drinking coffee first thing in the morning.

Now, effective habits, in my opinion, are those that we have developed that benefit us. Examples of effective habits would be drinking enough water daily, eating healthy, and getting enough exercise.

So, if you want to live a happy life, you must cultivate effective habits that will provide you with just that. And what exactly are these habits? Here are 9 general habits that you can develop in order to live a happy life.

Gratitude

Gratitude in its simplest form is the feeling of appreciation. It’s being thankful for whatever you have or receive. And this attitude is the most important habit to develop in order to be happy.

Why? Because it enables you to feel positive emotions. You can have a deeper appreciation of good experiences and relationships with others.

Furthermore, appreciation of even the simplest things in life will allow you to feel contentment. That what you have is enough. And this habit of appreciation will definitely make you happy in the present.

Exercise

Science explains that exercise releases endorphins and other hormones responsible for happiness. And because science says so, who are we to disagree, right?

Therefore, exercise is another activity that we must make a habit of. First and foremost, because it is beneficial to our physical health. Other advantages include:

• stress reduction
• lower anxiety
• increased energy
• improved mental resilience
• more self-confidence

All of these advantages will almost certainly contribute to a general sense of well-being.

Eat healthy

In addition to exercise, it is also important to develop the habit of eating healthy.

Eating, by itself, is a pleasurable activity. In fact, it was designed to be. For sustenance. But to maintain good health and genuine happiness, you should be eating healthy foods.

Eating healthy foods benefits both your physical and mental health. A healthy mind and body can also help you work better. You will have mental peace and physical strength that will keep you happy for the rest of your life.

Get enough sleep

Another natural requirement that must not be overlooked. People frequently believe that sleep is overrated. Especially in this “hustle” world we live in now.

But depriving ourselves of sleep lessens our alertness, slows down our reaction times. And impairs memory. So, in addition to the negative impact on our physical health, not getting enough sleep has a significant mental cost as well.

While it is common knowledge that we need sleep to live and function as humans, adequate sleep is also necessary for overall happiness and well-being.

Read

I’m probably being biased here for including this as an effective habit. Because I do love reading. But there are actual studies that back me up on this.

One such study found that reading reduces stress levels by 68%. In the same study, reading is found to work better than listening to music or taking a nature walk.

Similar reports about the benefits of reading show that people who love to read are more empathetic. This character trait can, among other things make life easier and more fascinating.

This habit can also be used in conjunction with getting enough sleep. This is because reading a good book before bedtime contributes to a good night’s sleep.

Learn new things

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Learning new things keeps the mind active. And psychologists believe that humans are hardwired for self-development. The desire to learn and grow is instilled in all of us.

But what is the connection between this natural desire and happiness? Simply put, learning has a positive impact on your well-being. Learning opens up new possibilities for you in terms of ideas, knowledge, and fulfillment.

In addition, learning also fuels your creativity. It enables your mind to connect seemingly unrelated things which spark ideas. Learning something new in one aspect of your life can also lead to improvement in another aspect.

When you learn new things, it will keep you so engrossed that you will lose track of time. It may leave you tired but you come out generally energized and happy. This feeling is what psychologists term “flow”.

Such is the power of learning. For this reason, you should strive to develop the habit of constantly learning new things.

And at this point, I’d like to recommend an online learning resource where you can learn something new, exciting, and fun. Skillshare brings accessible learning to two million students in thousands of classes across the globe.

It’s an online community where anyone can discover, take, or even teach a class. So if you are raring to learn and improve, sign-up for a one-month free trial of Skillshare Premium.

Meditation

Meditation is the act of focusing on one particular object, thought, or activity. The objective of meditation is to improve attention and awareness, mental clarity, and emotional stability.

Additionally, meditation has been shown to significantly reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, as well as improve peace, perception, self-concept, and well-being. 

Practicing meditation increases your exposure to positive emotions. This positive experience promotes mindfulness, social connection, and physical health, among other benefits. Overall, meditation has a positive impact on life satisfaction and happiness.

Declutter

Yep, that’s right, decluttering. It is not only about opening up some space. But more importantly, decluttering is another way of achieving happiness.

How? One, by freeing the mind from distraction. When the mind notices clutter around the house, it gets distracted.

Imagine a stack of bills, flyers, books, or magazines in a corner. Various trinkets, decorative items, or toys are strewn about the house. Several items are on the counter, table, or anywhere else.

This clutter will certainly keep you distracted and overwhelmed. But cleaning and tidying up will become easier when you declutter all of the items that aren’t used. In addition, an open, clean, and tidy house will allow the mind to focus.

Two, decluttering allows you to release certain emotions. It relieves you from the attachment you have on things! Learning to let go definitely leads to happiness.

Three, decluttering can help to improve air quality. Because decluttering creates more space around the house, air can then flow freely. Removing clutter will also result in fewer dust collectors. As a result, the air is free of dust particles.

Developing the habit of decluttering will allow you to control your mental state, which will lead to happiness.

Connect with others

Family and social connections are important in life and happiness. Developing a habit of connecting with others is, therefore, also essential.

Good habits such as generosity with your time, effort, or networking abilities. Lending a listening ear. Or genuine happiness about other people’s accomplishments all foster a great relationship.

Great relationships bring out good emotions in you. Emotions such as joy, contentment, and peace to name a few. Because you surround yourself with positive people.

Positive people will have a significant impact on your happiness because you made it a habit to connect with them.

How to develop effective habits for happiness

Having discussed the habits that are proven effective to make you happy, the next question then is, how? How do you change your behavior and develop these good habits and make them stick?

Change is difficult, and developing new habits to replace old ones is even more difficult.

So to help you, try these 3 remarkably simple ways to build good habits and make them stick.

Choose one then stack later

It goes without saying that if your goal is to be happy, you must first want to be happy. Because you have the ability to direct your own life and make your own decisions.

With that in mind, in order for an effective habit to stick, start small. And choose one habit. For now.

Start with that one small habit and then stack another good one on top of it.

For example, you might want to start by taking advantage of the many opportunities to learn new things. With the advent of the internet, all information has become significantly more accessible. And there is literally a wealth of valuable content available in a variety of formats for you to learn from.

Try learning ways to eat healthy, for example. Then choose vitamin and mineral-rich foods over carb-laden junk food. From there, include exercise in your daily routine. You can then also, plan your activities so that you can get enough sleep on a consistent basis.

As another example, let’s say you want to start from decluttering. Later on, you can stack meditation, reading, then connecting with others. Take your pick.

When you have these related habits stacked, keep at it. Rinse, repeat until such time that they become routinary.

Journaling

According to Brad Wilcox, “a personal journal is an ideal environment in which to “become”. It is a perfect place for you to think, feel, discover, expand, remember, and dream.”

Journaling your thoughts, ideas, feelings, or observations can help in having a happy life. By writing things down, you already have a commitment on paper. And of course, a great tracking device.

So what are you going to write about? First, be specific in what you want to “become”. That is your goal.

Because your second step is to write down the good habits required for the trait that you want to develop.

As an example:

If you want a healthy lifestyle, write down the habits that will lead to said lifestyle. Such as:

• Drink 8-12 glasses of water daily
• Eat healthy meals
• Exercise at least 20 minutes a day
• Meditate at least 20 minutes a day
• Write down progress
• Sleep early
• Wake-up early

Third, plan your activities on a daily basis. Write down the specific steps that you will take for the habit to stick.

For example:

6:00 am- wake up, drink one glass of water. Fill a 2-liter bottle with water to drink throughout the day. Finish drinking at least 3 hours before going to bed.
6:30 am- exercise: stretch, jumping jack, squats, yoga stretch, cool down.
7:00 am- meditate.
7:30 am- breakfast: oatmeal and milk.
12:00 pm- lunch: chicken and vegetables
7:00 pm- dinner: fish and vegetables
8:00 pm- journal progress during the day
10:00 pm- sleep

You can always revise or start over until you have a plan that is simple and easy to follow.

Keep in mind that although your plan may be simple, it will not be easy. Still, you have to keep going. Keep tracking your activities so you can make the necessary adjustments or make improvements.

Design your environment

According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, designing your environment is one way of reinforcing a good habit. To make the habit simple. And to avoid temptation.

Clear says, by changing your surroundings, you can place a hurdle in the way of bad behaviors and remove the barriers to good ones.

For instance, you can arrange your pantry so that healthy foods are in the front and junk foods are in the back.

Alternatively, if you want to develop the habit of reading, keep a book beside your bed. And read it before going to sleep.

With these examples, it is clear that some rearranging is possible. Either at home or in your office. To have a greater impact on the good habits you wish to cultivate.

In summary

So there you have it, effective habits for a happy life.

Developing effective habits such as gratitude, reading, learning, decluttering, meditating, or connecting with others. To exercise, healthy eating, and get enough sleep for a healthy lifestyle. All of these habits lead to a life of happiness and well-being.

You can develop these habits by starting small. That is, choosing one good habit and then stacking another good habit on top of it. Alternatively, you can keep a journal and write down your goals, plans, and activities.

Environment design is another method for developing effective habits.

If you liked this article, you might be interested in these articles about change and starting over:

29 Quotes To Make Change A Little Easier
43 Quotes To Inspire You To Start Over Today
Top 10 Reasons Why Change Is Difficult

Outside References:

Studies
Reading can help reduce stress, according to University of Sussex research
How Meditation Increases Happiness
How to Improve Your Health and Productivity Without Thinking