10 Habits of Happiness

Search Amazon.com for books about happiness and you’ll get 33,001 results.

But you don’t need to read a book to find happiness. Here are ten popular and easy habits that can give you a positive boost:

Smile: Move your muscles into a smile to encourage the same positive emotions that make you smile.
Write down three positive things every day.
Get enough sleep: Inadequate Zzz’s can wreak havoc on your health and happiness.
Do something for someone else: a positive feedback loop could explain why happier people tend to give more and vice versa.
Spend time with friends and family: social connections affect our happiness.
Express Gratitude.
Eat healthier: one study tied a Mediterranean diet with decreased incidence of depression. There’s even a diet that suggests foods make you happy.
Exercise: physical activity releases endorphins that boost happiness.
Go outside: Vitamin D you’ll get from sunlight exposure increases the feel-good neurotransmitter Serotonin.
And the most obvious one: only you know what makes you happiest. Identify what that is and make it a habit:

How to Start a Happiness Habit:

Right Now: Pick the easiest habit on this list and do it. I chose #1: Smile.

Then: If you’re on Lift, add a daily habit that makes you happy or choose the more flexible goal Complete Something That Makes Me Happy.