5 Exercises for Maintaining Happiness | Training Your Mind

What is happiness? What is this mental toggle that leads to one person being happy and at peace, while another person living a very similar life will be miserable?

Once our basic human needs for food, clothing, and shelter are met, it turns out that the happiest people actually work at being happy. They practice a grateful mindset and have an expectation that life will bring them good things which, in turn, creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We can learn through a set of mental and physical exercises to strengthen our "happiness muscles". Among the many techniques that can help you shift your mindset, here are a few of our favorites that have proven to be successful.

Start a Gratitude List

Every morning, take a few minutes to write down at least three things that you're grateful for. It can be as simple as appreciating your morning coffee, or as profound as the love you have for your children. The point is, there are many good things in most of our lives, and learning to recognize them will improve your day to day mindset.

Get Some Physical Exercise

Get moving for at least 10 minutes every day. Walking, biking, swimming, dancing, or doing yoga are all good examples of activities that will increase your heart rate. In addition to being good for your cardiovascular system, exercise helps your body to release endorphins, a substance that causes a positive shift in mood. So if you’re feeling down, take a few minutes to get outside for a quick walk, and chances are, you’ll feel a bit better!

Perform Random Acts of Kindness

Are you almost disgusted with life, little man?

…I'll tell you a wonderful trick

That will bring you contentment, if anything can,

…Do something for somebody, quick! – Author Unknown

The poet quoted above had the right idea! Doing something nice for someone else carries a double benefit—It helps you and them. Random acts of kindness don’t have to be anything major. Offer to walk the dog for your elderly neighbor. Offer to pay for someone's coffee. Call a friend and tell them how amazing they are. There are so many little things you can do for someone else to increase their happiness, and yours.

Journal

For two minutes, write about the most positive thing you've experienced that day. Again, it doesn't have to be grandiose. Did you get a seat on the train for your morning commute? Did a friend or relative share pictures of their baby? Did your dog give some serious snuggles today? This is similar to a gratitude list, but it should be done at the end of the day, and should focus on the positive experiences that happened on the day of writing.

Meditate

We’ve all heard about the benefits of meditation: stress relief, increased focus, improved emotional health, etc., and the good news is that meditation does not need to be a challenging or time consuming activity! If you can spare two minutes a day to sit and focus on your breathing, you're meditating. Don't breathe abnormally, just focus on the breath going in and out of your body, and nothing else. If your mind starts to wander, understand that this is normal and gently bring the focus back on your breathing. Learning to exist in the present moment, without anxiously focusing on the future or dwelling on the past, is a skill that many of us could benefit from in all aspects of our lives. 

Start a happiness training camp by performing these five acts every day for 21 days (enough time to build a habit). You may be surprised by the results!

The most important thing to realize is that happiness is not going to come from the sky like a bolt of lightning when you finally have the right shoes, the right job, or a new house. Happiness can be developed right here and now, by focusing on the things that may slip by without our appreciation, like a phone call from a friend or relative, a bright sunny day, or a good meal. Happiness is within our grasp because so many reasons to be happy already exist in our lives, if we just shift our mindset to realize it.