7 Happy Habits to Help You Become More Optimistic (You Can Start Today)
A happy life is just a few daily decisions away
A happy life doesn’t have to be complicated. If you adopt a few great habits, this life can be yours.
It really comes down to a few daily decisions that increase your optimism.
Increased optimism = increased happiness
Oh, and these habits aren’t hard either. You can start them today, and you will see results relatively quickly.
So, if you want to become more optimistic and live a happier life, keep reading (and keep an open mind).
1. Perform regular workouts
Working out regularly is one of the best ways to visually see the benefit of your hard work. As your results start to show, your optimism will naturally rise.
There’s more than that, though!
Exercise releases endorphins into your system. These are naturally mood boosters and reduce stress and anxiety.
In other words, your well-being improves.
But don’t be surprised if you don’t see dramatic improvements after a couple of weeks! You need to stay consistent.
The longer you stick with it, the easier it’ll be. The results are addicting.
2. Get sunlight in the morning
This may or may not be in here because of Andrew Huberman…
I know, it’s easy to dismiss something as simple as getting sunlight in the morning, but don’t hate it until you give it a legitimate shot.
The science behind it is simple.
It helps regulate your circadian rhythm and boosts your serotonin production
Basically, you’ll feel better.
3. Practice happy reflection
I find this habit is best executed when you journal regularly. It’s easy to write down different things you are happy about at the end of each day.
But make it easy when you first start.
Write about all the little things throughout your day that made you smile.
It could be about how you smelled delicious baking when walking through the mall, or about how someone complimented your outfit.
This reflection will make you happy and will make you feel more optimistic about what’s next!
4. Reframe your negative thoughts
Negative thoughts are inevitable. Don’t bother getting rid of them. Instead, try to reframe them.
The best example is to look at failures as learning opportunities. You may not have succeeded this time, but you are now equipped with the knowledge or skills to succeed the next time.
Oftentimes, failures only look like failures in the timeframe you’re stuck in.
If you could see the next 5 years, you’d realize that this was the moment you learned what it takes to become a champion (in whatever challenge you’re taking on).
There is a silver lining.
5. Set continuous small goals (and track them)
Nothing increases optimism like seeing yourself succeed. Seeing your success can be hard when all your goals are massive, though.
That’s why you need to set milestones.
Along the way to being a billionaire, you need to be happy about earning your first million.
You won’t be happy winning a national championship if you’re only concerned about gold at the Olympics.
Set your small goals, track them so you know you're doing well, and then you’ll be happy about your achievements and have the momentum to push through to the big ones!
6. Avoid the news
A little while ago, those curating the news realized that fear keeps your attention, generates more clicks, and more profit than sharing good news.
What I’m saying is, the news is specifically designed to disturb you.
The result?
Less optimism and decreased happiness.
This is one of the reasons I started reading more often. I realized that most of what happens is exaggerated in the moment or outright inaccurate. This means it is almost always better to learn about it afterwards.
For example, when Elon bought Twitter, “experts” said it would be dead within 2 months. Now, it is better than ever.
They wanted to sell you on the self-destruction of a platform that 500 million people used.
Why? So, it could upset you.
Turn off the poison. I mean, news.
7. Spend more time with optimistic people
I recently wrote about how spending time with optimistic people will make you a happier person. It is one of life’s hacks.
Look at your overly optimistic friend who sees everything through rose-colored glasses. Yes, they can be annoying to be around at times, but they’re always somehow happy.
I know, you may not be able to match that (I can’t either).
However, you can get around 80% of the way there. And if you do that successfully, you’ll be a lot happier.
It doesn’t have to be hard either. Just consciously make the effort, and you’ll see improvement.
Closing thoughts
Optimism is often the missing ingredient in many people’s lives.
You want to be hopeful about what is to come. If you are looking forward to the future, you’re more likely to be happy on the journey there.
Considering that life is a continuous journey to the future, this is in your best interest.
Thanks for reading