Here’s an interesting exercise for you. Head out to do your errands, drive to work, or get to school and make it a point to make someone else’s day today. It could be something as simple as giving someone a big smile, have a meaningful conversation with a person who’s feeling a little lost or lonely, or it could be buying lunch for the homeless person on the corner. It doesn’t matter what you do, but do something today to make someone else’s day.
How does that make sure feel? It’s a pretty good feeling, isn’t it? It seems that a big key to our own happiness lies in making people around us happy and helping others. When you start to think about it, it makes sense, doesn’t it? We are social creatures who have to work together to truly thrive. It is only logical then that helping those around us has an internal rewards system built in. In other words, our happiness goes up as we improve the lives of those around us.
You can see that a great strategy to increase our own happiness is to cheer up those around us. Not only will it help make you feel better and happier, you’ll be able to share that big smile on your face which can make someone else’s day as well. While it can be hard to do this kind of stuff when you’re feeling sad, those are the times you need to force yourself to do it the most. Simply performing a selfless act increases the happiness you feel and instills a feeling of pride for helping someone else.
As with many of the other strategies we’ve been discussing, the key to making this work is to make it a habit. If it becomes an ingrained part of your daily routine, you’ll automatically go out of your way to help others even when (and especially when) you may not feel like it. Give yourself that little extra boost, infuse your with happiness and go out of your way for the benefit of someone else.
To get your habit started, think of a few different things you can do to make someone’s day. It doesn’t have to be anything big or complicated. Instead, focus on small acts of kindness that you can do every single day. Bless your loved ones and complete strangers who look like they could use a little cheering up with this kindness. Help someone unload groceries, fix a meal for a neighbor who just had a new baby, or bring your spouse coffee in bed when he or she is having a hard time. Each of these small acts of kindness will start to make a huge difference in the world around you and improve your sense of happiness and joy.
Awesome .. Thanks you for your wisdom to make this better world
Thank you Lana!