5½ habits of happy people
Posted on July 27, 2022 by Risa Haasbroek, One of Thousands of Entrepreneurship Coaches on Noomii.
If you want to be happier, why not study happy people? Here are five and a half ways in which happy people are happy.
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So said Leo Tolstoy at the beginning of his epic novel, Anna Karenina.
Unhappy people being unhappy in an interesting way makes for captivating novels. But in real life unhappiness makes you miserable. If you want to be happier, why not study happy people and find out what makes them happy?
Here are five and a half ways in which happy people are happy. And by happy, I mostly mean they have a hopeful attitude.
(I bet you’re curious about that half habit. We’ll get there in a minute.)
1. HAPPY PEOPLE DON’T GET SWAMPED BY THEIR OWN EMOTIONS
Emotions come and go. But it doesn’t feel as if that’s true when you’re drowning in sadness, disappointment, loneliness, rejection or feelings of inadequacy.
Happy people, however, don’t get overwhelmed by even the most intense feelings. They have mastered the skill to allow their emotions in their bodies without freaking out. They are not afraid of their own feelings. They have learned that feelings won’t kill them.
2. HAPPY PEOPLE USE A MAGIC QUESTION
This is the magic question happy people ask themselves when they find themselves in a mess.
“How can I look at this differently?”
By reminding themselves that when they think differently about a situation, they’ll feel differently about it, happy people reframe their take on their troubles. And suddenly they see more possibilities, a way out, or a lesson to be learned that will help them grow.
3. HAPPY PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEMSELVES FEEL GOOD WITHOUT THE HELP OF OTHERS
Happy people know that waiting for others to give them the appreciation, approval, or encouragement they need, is to give others way too much power over their lives. They have found ways to generate good feelings about themselves without the assistance of other people.
By thinking of themselves as their own best friend they always remind themselves of past successes, things they overcame and all they can be grateful for in their lives.
4. HAPPY PEOPLE TAKE THE LONG VIEW
Happy people plan and live their lives from the wisest part of their soul. They think about long-term and eternal benefits for themselves. That means they can postpone immediate gratification of a need that feels very urgent and do things that’ll serve them in the longer run.
5. HAPPY PEOPLE LIVE WITHOUT THIS UNNECESSARY FEAR
Happy people do not needlessly worry what other people might think of them. They are freer and joyfuller because they’ve unshackled themselves from the tyranny of other’s opinions.
Therefore, they contribute more, participate more, and create more. They set big goals and then achieve them. They make more of their time and enjoy their time more. They have so much more energy available to spend on living aloud instead of having a whispered existence.
None of these five habits is possible without the last habit, the half habit.
5½. HAPPY PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE ONLY HALF
Truly happy people know they are half without God. They know the chief end of a human is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.
They find happiness mostly because they live by this verse from Philippians 4:7.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
