10 Ways of Living a Happy Life The Japanese Way
It can be tough to live a happy and meaningful life in today’s fast-paced culture. It’s easy to feel like you don’t have time to relax and enjoy life when you have so many duties and everyday activities to worry about. It’s easy to allow work and stress to seep into your relationships with loved ones and interfere with living the life you want. However, there are many ways to be Happy. As it is said, “Happiness is a state of mind.” You can find joy in every day life no matter what else is going on around you. Following are the ways of Living a Happy Life.
1) Forgiveness: What it Is and Why it Matters.
People think that forgiveness is about excusing someone else’s actions, or turning a blind eye to someone else’s misdeeds. But actually, for many people, it is about confronting your own anger and disappointment. This can be very challenging: The feelings of resentment and bitterness that can come up when you are trying to forgive are often strong, uncomfortable feelings—even painful ones. These emotions are much easier to ignore or push away than they are to face head-on.
2) Owning your past doesn’t mean you have to be defined by it.
Owning your past means you look at it without judgment. Because if you can’t learn from what happened in your past, then you won’t ever be able to make better decisions in your future. And that is the most important thing to do with being happier and more successful in life. So make sure you understand how not having compassion for yourself has led to where you are now. Then focus on forgiving yourself and learning from any mistakes instead of holding onto them for too long. It is also very important for others to forgive themselves, it is just as important for us to do so as well.
3) One key difference between happy people and unhappy people
Happy people tend to be grateful for what they have, rather than dwelling on what they don’t. Gratitude is such an important component of happiness that studies suggest it can boost your mood more effectively than money or fame. In one study, researchers asked people who had won an essay contest a simple question: how many things did they have in their lives that they felt thankful for? The winners who used gratitude as their most prevalent emotion said there were about five things; other winners reported fewer things.
4) The happiness paradox:
When does pursuing happiness makes us miserable? Is there such a thing as being too happy? Research shows that people who think they should be happier than they are actually aren’t any more content than those who aren’t. So, why is it so hard for us to be satisfied with our lives just as they are? In his book Stumbling on Happiness, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert argues that happiness is in large part an illusion created by our minds. Our brains have evolved to distort reality and paint happy pictures of our future selves. This helps explain why we can feel surprisingly positive about events that haven’t even happened yet — but fail miserably at enjoying good things when they happen today.
5) How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives
Spend your days in ignorance and frustration, and you’ll end up frustrated and ignorant. Spend your days avoiding mistakes—which means, almost unavoidably, missing out on successes as well—and you’ll be stuck with regrets. Devote your days giving in to every compulsion and distraction that crosses your path…well, that sounds stressful! And it is. It’s also ineffective: If you can’t resist eating that piece of cake or checking email one more time, those behaviors will eventually shape your behavior. Instead of flaking out at work or zoning out during meetings because we lack focus and energy, what if we had focus and energy? The solution is actually quite simple: We need habits that improve our lives rather than harm them.
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6) Good habits are easy when they’re routine
Every morning, I exercise, meditate, and do some work—and it’s almost effortless. Every evening, I prepare dinner ahead of time so that I can put my feet up while dinner cooks. Though these habits make my life easier, they also make me happier: Exercise boosts my energy and focus; meditation clears my mind and reduces stress; cooking dinner is an opportunity to spend time with friends and family. Creating new habits isn’t easy (especially when old ones have such strong roots), but when you integrate them into your routine—whether that’s going for a walk after work or cooking every night—they become second nature.
7) The awful trap of self-loathing
Often when we feel bad about ourselves, it’s because of an outside influence that is using us as a scapegoat. We blame our lives on others, and develop elaborate storylines in which we’re innocent victims. When we take ownership of who we are, though, and focus on our part in any situation, we develop more resilience. In order to live happier lives, it’s vital that you have realistic expectations of yourself and others; if you have unrealistic ideas about what people are supposed to do for you or how they’re supposed to behave toward you (or how much money they’re supposed to make or even how much time off they should be taking), then your sense of self-worth will always be contingent upon them.
8) Savor each experience as if it were your last (and first!)
Once you get rid of those negative thoughts, you can start appreciating everything around you. From a smiling face at work, to your morning cup of coffee, it’s important that you focus on what’s positive in your life. When something makes you happy, take time to acknowledge that feeling—it’ll help put things into perspective and remind you that there are more enjoyable moments on their way! Just be sure not to let any great moment pass without giving it its due attention. It might not be here again very soon. So do yourself (and everyone else) a favor: make each day count by living in the present moment and taking advantage of every opportunity along your path. Check out some enlightening TED Talks for more ways in which we can all focus on what really matters.
9) Build your happiness habit one brick at a time.
Don’t try too hard all at once. Trying too hard all at once is one of the most common ways people fail to create lasting changes in their lives. Wanting everything at once leads to disappointment and frustration, which can demotivate you from achieving your goal. A better approach is to develop multiple habits that will lead up towards your overall goal. For example, if you want more money, don’t try and focus on making big bucks overnight—start by saving small amounts for a couple weeks, or read an inspirational book every day for a month. When you look back after each week or month has passed, you’ll see yourself slowly progressing in your desired direction: saving more money, becoming wealthier as time goes on.
10) Breaking bad habits doesn’t mean you’ll never engage in them again.
Everyone relapses sometimes. It can be easy to think about yourself as either being someone who does or doesn’t engage in bad habits. But most of us fall somewhere on a spectrum: For example, you might have plenty of healthful habits but also have one or two areas where you let yourself go—but instead of thinking of it as you versus your bad habit, see it as an opportunity for growth. The truth is that we are all works in progress.
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