How to be Happy: Add More Habits To Your Routine
Regardless of your version of true happiness, living a happier, more satisfied life is within reach. A few tweaks to your regular habits like getting more sleep and exercise can help you get there.
Habits matter. If you’ve even tried breaking a bad habit, you know all too well how engrained they are.
Well, good habits are deeply engrained, too. Why not work on making positive habits part of your routine? Just remember that everyone’s version of happiness is a little different, and so is their path to achieving it.
If some of these habits create added stress or just don’t fit your lifestyle, ditch them. With a little time and practice, you’ll figure out what does and doesn’t work for you.
Daily Habits
- Smile — start each morning by smiling at yourself in the mirror
- Exercise — consider these exercise starters
** take a walk around the block
**sign up for a beginner’s gym class
** start stretching for 5 minutes a day
- Get plenty of sleep—adequate sleep is vital to good health
- Practice gratitude— simply being grateful can give your mood a big boost. practicing gratitude can have significant impact on feelings of hope and happiness. start each day by acknowledging one thing you’re grateful for
- See friends— who do you miss? reach out to them. make a date to get together or simply have a long phone chat
As you build habits to improve your happiness, it’s important to follow up with routine appointments to help take care of your body.
- See your primary care physician
- Dentist
- Get your vision checked
- Stay hydrated—stay healthy
Sheila Birnbaum’s professional career has been devoted to enhancing patient care. As the Director of the Patient Advocacy Program at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), Hamilton, NJ, she instituted numerous programs, many which received statewide recognition, including several prestigious rewards.
