Happy people aren’t all the same, but they’re similar. These similarities provide a wonderful roadmap to creating happiness in your own life. Happy people have many of the same habits. It only makes sense that you can also enjoy a happier life if you can add these habits to your routine. Happiness doesn’t happen to you. It’s something that you do.

Adding the right mix of habits to your day can enhance your level of happiness:

  1. Resiliency. Happy people are resilient. They can endure any hardship and take the everyday ups and downs in stride. They are slow to give up. This characteristic makes it easier to maintain a positive attitude and more challenging to feel depressed or lack hope.
  2. Spend time with happy people. Hang around others that have a positive attitude and find it easy to laugh and smile. Happiness is contagious. See if you can catch the happiness bug from others. Who are the happy people in your life?
  3. Keep the positive in mind. Every situation has both negative and positive aspects. Those that get upset easily focus on the negative. Those that focus on the positive are happier. Count your blessings each day.
    • Your job might stink, but at least you have a paycheck and can pay your bills.
    • Your sandwich might not taste great, but you won’t be hungry.
  1. Give. It is easier to be happy when you’re making life better or easier for someone else. Give your time to a worthy cause. You’ll be amazed how much better you feel.
  2. Exercise. An exercise habit is one of the more challenging to build, but one of the most valuable. You physically feel good after exercising, assuming you didn’t do too much. You also enjoy the benefit of knowing that you did something that supports your health and fitness. Find time in your schedule to exercise each day.
  3. Have goals and dreams. It’s hard to be happy if you don’t have something to look forward to. What do you most want to have and experience? Make a list and think about it each day.
  4. Avoid gossip. Gossip can be fun and interesting, but there’s a price to pay. Sooner or later, you’ll anger the person you’re gossiping about. You may feel the need to lie to get yourself out of trouble. When you speak negatively about others, you’re more likely to worry that others are speaking poorly about you, too.
    • Gossiping accomplishes nothing and creates unnecessary drama in your life.
  1. Have an active social life. Social relationships are a key component of happiness. Some people require a more active social life than others, but everyone needs some social contact. Determine how much of a social life you require and make it happen.
  2. Avoid excess. The person with the most toys is far from the happiest person you know. Too many possessions and indulgences subtract from your happiness. These things can create clutter, stress, distraction, and guilt. Enjoy yourself, but be reasonable if happiness is the goal.
  3. Acceptance. You don’t have control over everything. There are things that you must accept. The only other alternative is misery. Accept those things that you can do nothing about.

You don’t need a million dollars or the facial features of a model to be happy. Increase the levels of happiness you experience each day by changing your habits. A few new habits can be enough to make you feel happier every day and brighten your outlook on life.