It is not easy to learn how to be happy and if you want to be happy every day, then you need to have a list of things that you know would make you happy. This post is a suggestion. I hope it helps you in finding your own list and your answer to how to be happy every day.

Well, this is the 100th post on this happiness blog.

My goal over the course of the next few years would be to build this blog as the happiness library on the internet to have something to read about every perspective concerning joy and happiness.

So, I was thinking what should be the 100th post and I thought a list of 100 ways to find out how to be happy would be useful. So let us get into it.

It is not just important to know how to be happy. It is also important to know what happiness is. Once you learn what happiness is for you, you can go and create it every day.

Here are 100 ways to be happy right now, no matter who you are. You will find something that you will be able to implement to find happiness today.

1. Breathe

You are alive. Life is a blessing that we did not earn. We got it! How fortunate you and I are to be alive. Breathe and enjoy the feeling of sheer existence. Since you are going to breathe as long as you live, it is one sure shot route to be happy every day.

2. Meditate

Meditation is the practice of observing your thoughts and see them passing through. It clears your mind and makes you feel relaxed. As you breathe, be conscious of the thoughts running in your mind. This reminds me to write a detailed post on meditation and its impact on our state of happiness a little later. Watch this space.

3. Practice Mindfulness

To be mindful is to be completely present in your present. Whatever you do from here, do it mindfully. It will make you a happier and a better person. If you want to learn how to be happy every day, make mindfulness a part of your every day life.

4. Practice gratitude

All of us would be a lot happier if we could learn to be grateful for what we have. When we start with gratitude instead of thanklessness for what we have, we start with joy and hence we can be more productive in our approach to life.

5. Become an optimist

You may already be an optimist. Then, this point doesn’t apply to you. However, if you are not, and tend to take a negative approach to things, realize that it is not helping you. Be an optimist. Assume in your favor. You will be happier. After all, you need someone to stand with you. Let that person be yourself, even if there is no one else.

6. Run or swim

Physical activity, especially when it is intense, releases happiness hormones. Therefore, runners experience something that’s called a runner’s high. The body and mind are intertwined and when you take care of your body, you take care of your mind and vice versa. There are a few things that are as simple as running to be happy every day.

7. Read a book

Reading books is exercise for our minds. Reading is one of the best things you can do to your mind, no matter how old you are. Pick up any book that interests you, and spend some time reading. You will feel better and joyful. Reading allows us to understand other lives since we can’t live them.

8. Take a shower

If you have showered for the day, don’t repeat unless it is too hot and you need it. However, if you haven’t showered like we don’t it on days which are chaotic and messy, take a shower. Water refreshes us and allows us to think again.

9. Take a nap

A quick nap can cure anything. Why do you think clinical depression patients are given sedatives? It is because they can’t sleep peacefully and sedatives help them to do exactly that. A night of peaceful sleep or an afternoon nap and cure a lot of emotional pain.

10. Laugh

Thanks to the internet, we have the benefit of watching comedy and comedy shows from home whenever we want. Tune into the internet and watch some comedy shows or stand-up as you like it. It will make you laugh and you will feel happier. Laughter is a visible way to solve the problem of how to be happy every day. No one can contest that you are not happy when you are laughing.

11. Take a walk in the greens

Unlike running or swimming, walking is a slow form of physical activity which is rather meditative. If you can go to a green place. Greenery heals us. It is the color of peace. As you walk, enjoy the greenery and feel blessed to be alive. It may allow you to look at your problems differently.

12. Drink in the sunshine

The doctors have recommended sunshine forever since it has vitamin D. But, beyond the vitamin content, sunshine calms us and takes away stress. Do nothing else while you stand in the sun. Just enjoy the sunshine.

13. Eat something you like

What a pleasure food is! Walk to the fridge and cook something you like. If you don’t cook, order in from outside and enjoy it. Food is a simple way to make ourselves happy when we are not feeling happy.

14. Play a game you enjoy

A few games like chess need company but you could play video games by yourself and that would make you a little happier. Go play a game you enjoy.

15. Solve a puzzle

The process of solving puzzles is mentally intriguing and it keeps you intellectually occupied. The joy of having solved it gives you joy. So, go find the Rubik’s Cube. If you don’t like the cube, find another intellectual activity to be happy every day. An active mind leads to an active body and vice versa.

16. Dance

Do you dance? I am not a dancer either but dance as an activity is a happy one. It makes you move your body to the music and you feel energized, refreshed and happy when you dance. Go, do it.

17. Listen to your favorite artist

Most of us love music in some form or the other. Tune in to your favorite musician and listen to the songs to be happy every day. Don’t just listen, hum along and lose yourself in the music. You will come back refreshed and looking forward to life.

18. Go for a drive

If you own a car, go for a drive and keep the windows open. Let the breeze flow through your hair. If you don’t have hair, let the breeze massage your scalp. If you have a bike, take it for a spin.

19. Get the hell out of the house

The point is if you spend too much time in the house, you will bore the hell out of yourself. Get out of the house, for a walk, for a run, for a little shopping even if there is nothing to shop. Outdoor time is critical for me personally, be happy every day. I can’t bear claustrophobia.

20. Buy yourself a small gift

All of us can tune on the internet and buy us a small gift. If you are not in a mood for a gift, buy yourself some flowers. You like flowers, don’t you? Flowers make everyone happy.

21. Eat Dark chocolate and drink Red Wine

Yes, we mentioned about food earlier in this piece. There are certain kinds of food which uplift your mood immediately. Red wine and dark chocolate are two such foods, which a lot of people find tempting and enjoyable. I like to sip one red wine to be happy every day. Okay, don’t drink every day. It is not good for your liver. But, enjoy it, every once in a while.

22. Drink alcohol, but in moderation

Allow yourself some alcohol, in moderation. Beer tends to be left mood in summers as well and you can chill with beer for a brew of joy. Like they always say with alcohol, drink in moderation. Otherwise, it doesn’t achieve happiness but a terrible hangover.

23. Write

Take a notebook or a notepad wherever you like to write and write your feelings be happy every day. When you write, you feel lighter and happier. Writing helps clear your mind.

24. Do some facial exercises

When we are stressed, our face and eyes hurt. Do some facial exercises. Make stupid faces and stretch your skin. Lighten your forehead. You will feel better.

25. Go get a massage

If a spa is accessible near your home, go get a massage. A body massage relaxes the body and makes you feel refreshed. It also allows you to sleep quite peacefully and then you can restart work on your problems.

26. Drink tea or coffee

I am a tea drinker. Tea refreshes me and allows me to clear my mind. Make yourself some tea, and sip it slowly. Drink it mindfully, enjoying every sip. Place mindfulness in every area of your life. Since it is a daily drink, it is an easy to implement way be happy every day.

27. Do an activity or piece of work you enjoy

Now, a lot of us in the society find work painful. However, surely, there are things you enjoy doing. Do them. Spend some time making a painting or writing a poem or singing a song or making an app. Do an activity you enjoy. It will make you happy and your creativity will excite you to do more of it.

28. Make a plan

When you don’t know what to do, it is likely you don’t have a plan. If you don’t have a plan, you need one be happy every day. So, make a plan of the things that you plan to do over the course of the next few months or a year. You will feel better.

29. Think about things you are proud of

There must be things that you have done in your life that you are proud of. Think of those things when you are low, and you will feel happier and kicked again.

30. Call a friend

If you are in a mood for a conversation, call a friend you trust and have a conversation. We don’t live alone in this world and we cannot live along. We need people to talk to, just to feel human and connected.

31. Ask for help

There would be times when you would need help because you may be facing a problem or a few that you cannot solve yourself. So, if you need help, ask for help. Somebody would be willing to help you, and that would make you happy.

32. Express yourself emotionally

Admit how you feel emotionally if you want to be happy every day. Do not suppress your emotions. Feel free to express them to yourself, and to other people. When you express your emotions, you allow yourself to feel free.

33. Cry out loud

We mentioned earlier that laughing makes you feel better. It is also important to know that even crying makes our heart lighter. If you have suppressed your emotions for years, allow yourself to cry. You will feel lighter, and more joyful once you are done crying because you have allowed yourself to express yourself.

34. Let go of other people’s judgement

One of the most important ways to find happiness is to let yourself free from other people’s judgement. If you keep thinking about what others think of you, when would you have the time to think about what you want?

35. Be selfish

It is okay to prioritize your happiness over that of others. Nobody understands you better than you do. So, be selfish for your own happiness. Stop being selfless.

36. Allow yourself to heal

You have had a past and may be it was troublesome. Heal from your past. Come to terms with it. When you do that, you would feel happier.

37. Do not worry about the future

The future is uncertain. You can only make plans for your future and calibrate as you go. If the future bothers you, go one step a time. Do not plan too far along. Do what feels right and the future will be fine.

38. Get rid of worry

There is a worthy quote in Hindi. It says Chinta Chita Saman. Translated into English, it means worry is like your pyre. So, if you keep worrying, you will reach your pyre faster. Do not worry about problems that don’t exist yet. You will feel happier.

39. Do something you have never done

Have you wanted to do something for a long while but never made the time to do it, go and do it. When you do new things, you feel more excited about life than ever. Do something absolutely new.

40. Learn something new

Take time to learn something new be happy every day. There are times when our current skills do not work and we need to acquire new skills. The world is constantly evolving and there are always new things to learn. Take the time to learn something new.

41. Start again on your goals

If you haven’t taken the time to work on your goals in a long time, restart with what you have learnt so far. You will find new energy that you didn’t think you had.

42. Watch great movies

There are so many classics that we cannot watch them all. Watch movies which can boost your spirit. Movies like the Shawshank Redemption are a great watch any day to lift up your spirits.

43. Help an older person walk the road

If you see an older person having difficulty in walking the road, help them do it. Help a stranger who is having difficulty in doing a task. Look for opportunities where you can help people.

44. Offer free hugs

Go on the street and offer hugs for free. Like you, even other people need hugs. Hugs warm the soul and make us feel loved. A hug a day is not just a way to be happy every day, but it keeps you away from emotional breakdowns.

45. Offer your apologies where due

If you think you need to apologize to someone, do that. Apologies that are unattended to, burden us emotionally and render us unhappy.

46. Deal with your guilt

If you feel guilty about something that you did, go and correct it be happy every day. If you need to forgive yourself for causing pain to yourself, do that. Take the emotional pain and get over it. Guilt is a negative emotion and it kills us inside.

47. Smile

Smile at yourself and at others. When you smile, others feel that you like them and they reciprocate the smile. It is not always true because some people are full of grudges and don’t smile back. Do not take it personally.

48. Be generous with praising others

Be generous with praise. When you praise other people, they feel good about themselves and that makes you happy for having made someone’s day.

49. Schedule your day

Plan your day and put different kinds of activities in it that you enjoy-work, personal, social and personal time. Once you have scheduled your day, work your plan. A planned day is good day.

50. Create discipline

Make a plan to be more disciplined. All of us have scope for improving the level of discipline in our lives. No matter who we are. We are inherently lazy as people. So, figure out how to improve the levels of discipline in your life.

51. Watch the sunset or sunrise

Get up early in the morning and watch the sun rise. Dawn is one of the most beautiful times of the day. Get up early to be there at the crack of dawn. Watch the sun set. It only takes a few minutes and it is beautiful.

52. Buy an hourglass

An hourglass is a beautiful invention which makes us look at time as a metaphor. The sand falls down and time moves. We are all heading towards the end slowly and the hourglass is a reminder of that.

53. Develop death consciousness

It means to know that we are all mortals and that life is a gift which can be taken away from us any day. So, we should do everything we can to live it to the best we can.

54. Write down a mission for your life

Companies have a mission. Why should we as individuals not have a mission? Write down a purpose for your life. Think about it for a few days and write down a purpose statement that defines the mission of your life.

55.  Incorporate yoga and Pranayama

Make yoga and pranayama a part of your life. Yoga is a system of physical exercises and pranayama is a set of breathing exercises. When done together, it improves your overall health. Heath is wealth and happiness.

56. Plan your life financially

Look at your life from a financial perspective and plan your finances. Make space for some savings and life insurance for difficult times. Keep some money away for exigencies. It makes for peace of mind for you and your family.

57. Review your habits

We are all creatures of habit. Look at things you repeatedly you. They are your habits. Review which habits are serving you and which ones are not serving you and hence working against you. Make a plan to eliminate the destructive habits- habits like smoking, over use of alcohol or excessive masturbation.

58. Divide time into different parts of your life

Look at which parts of your life are important to you- work, personal life or solitude and allot time according to the importance. For most of us, work life is quite important and every area of your life cracks up if it is not going well. So, plan your time accordingly.

59. Resist harmful temptations

Resist harmful temptations like over spending money, drinking too much alcohol or doing drugs.

Anything that affects your life in the long term is not worthy for short-term enjoyment.

60. Make love

If you have a loving partner, make love and spend time with them. Love making makes us feel happier and creates a sense of belonging.

61. Avoid negativity

Avoid negativity in all forms- from people, from television or the internet. The moment you find something is affecting you mentally, avoid it. It is not in your interest.

62. Eat dinner with your family

Make a schedule to eat dinner with your family. We all live busy and chaotic lives. However, they say that a family that eats together stays together.

63. Build relationships with people who are better than you

Build relationships and friendships with people who are better than you in intelligence, career or maturity. When we spend time with people we admire, we tend to learn from them.

64. Take risks

If you do not take any risks, you would not grow. It is important to take calculated risks which can significantly improve your life. Take risks, while not endangering your life.

65. Stop being afraid of failure

Failure is a part of life and of the growing up process. If you are scared of failure, you will not learn anything new. It is important to look at failure positively and keep getting up when you fall.

66. Do not take temporary setbacks personally

Look at life in the longer term. Do not let temporary setbacks affect your sense of respect and self-esteem. If you are a risk taker, then there will be temporary setbacks when you will be defeated. Do not let that defeat you. Look at your achievement in the longer term and setbacks in that perspective. People who don’t take any risks live the same kind of life over decades. You don’t want to be them.

67. Choose your friends carefully

Do not talk to everyone. Choose your friends carefully. Only speak to people you trust completely. It is okay to be alone than in the wrong kind of company.

68. Do not join the gang of miserable people

Since you have come this far in reading this article, you are interested in finding your happiness on a daily basis. Most people are not. They are miserable, and they like to see other people with them. Do not join the gang.

69. Keep fighting through pain

One of the greatest quotes on life comes from the movie Rocky Balboa. When talking to his kids, he says and I quote,

“Life’s not about how hard of a hit you can give. It’s about how many you can take, and still keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits.”

When you are in pain, keep fighting through the pain. We are capable of way more than we think we are.

70. Do not let age stop you

Never let your age stop you from hitting your goals. Letting age stop you from wanting to be happy would limit your life. A lot of people have found happiness in life in the later years of their lives. If they can do it, so can we.

71. Do not let yourself live a shallow life

A shallow life is one devoid of purpose. A shallow life is a life that chases materialism over everything else. A life spent showing off is a shallow and wasted life. You don’t want to live a shallow life. Do you?

72. Indulge in philosophy

Read philosophy, of whatever kind. It makes you a thinker and a deeper individual. Read the works of philosophers like Arthur Schopenhauer, Aristotle etc. You will find that there is so much joy in addressing the important questions of life.

73. Follow great lives

These days with social media, it is easier to watch and read about great people. There are so many great entrepreneurs, thinkers who are alive right now. Follow them on social media, read books about them so you can learn from their lives. The more you learn the more you find it easy to be happy every day.

74. Plant a sapling

The world faces an environment challenge as we speak and climate change affects all of us. Plant a sapling and watch it grow. Take pleasure in greenery. When you see a flower on a plant you planted, you would be happy.

75. Go out and party or Go in and party

Wow, I can’t imagine that this one is coming so late in the list. But yes, have a social life and go and party. Define what a party means to you and create it your way. Don’t do a party just like everyone does it.

76. Reward yourself

When you do something that you were supposed to do, reward yourself, no matter how small. All of us like rewards, irrespective of our age.

77. Nurture a loving family

Do whatever you can to have a loving family. A loving family is one of the greatest sources of joy in your everyday life. Work on this every day and see how you can improve your family life. A happy family is a global platform to be happy every day. Nobody who belongs to a loving family is likely to feel sad on a consistent basis.

78. Celebrate the child in you

Do not let go of the child in you. Be playful like children, even if other people tell you to stop behaving like a kid. Don’t listen to them.

79. Happiness comes in smaller and bigger chunks

Happiness comes in different packages. When you eat an ice cream you like, that’s a small chunk. When you achieve a professional goal, that’s a big chunk. Do not forget to enjoy the smaller chunks while you work on getting the bigger chunks.

80. Do not compare your life to that of others

No matter who you are, there will be always be someone who would seem to have their life more sorted out than yours. At any point, if you compare your life to that of others, you will give away your joy. If you want to be happy every day, you need to root out comparison from your life.

81. Unplug from tech

Create days where you are completely away from technology. This sounds like a note to self. Have a day in a week or so where you do not touch the smartphone or the laptop or the tab or the video game. Otherwise, we will create a generation that doesn’t know how to live without gadgets and that’s not healthy.

82. Create physical space

Do not buy too many things and clutter your house. Create a physical space where there is room to breathe and be yourself. Your environment can make you happy if it is an energetic and positive one. Use fragrances to enhance the atmosphere to indulge your senses.

83. Say NO to most things

Life has too many demands from too many people. Say no to things which do not progress your goals. Remember, we spoke about a mission. Discard anything that doesn’t help you in your mission. Only do things that help you in achieving it.

84. Work with people you admire

There are a few important things that can be said for work happiness and one of those is to work with people you admire. If you work with people you find worthy, you will look forward to learn from them every day.

85. Do not care about your weaknesses

When you work on your strengths, you feel strong. When you work on your weaknesses, you feel weak. It is as simple as that. Why would you waste your life working on your weaknesses?

86. Trust your instincts in important decisions

Trust yourself to do the things that bring happiness to you. When something doesn’t feel right, it most likely isn’t right. When in doubt, don’t.

87. Be nice to people

When you are nice to people, there is a high likelihood that they would be nice to you when you need them to be. The world goes around, and you never know who you might need.

88. In personal and professional relationships, seek compatibility

When you are with people and you want to change a lot of fundamental things about them, they are not your type. You need to find your type and build relationships with them. Compatibility either exists or it doesn’t. It cannot be created.

89. Study happiness

If you want to be happy, study what makes other people happy and then try to do the things that they do. You do not want to copy them but you want to understand their mental framework.

90. Do not be a part of the crowd

The crowds don’t care about individual thought. Form an individual opinion on everything and be known for it. The crowd has a crowded opinion. You don’t want to be a part of the crowd since it won’t lead you to your happiness.

91. Find what you are passionate about and follow it

This should be somewhere on the top of the list but since we started with things that are easier to find happiness, this got pushed down. Take time to find what and who turns you on. Then stick to them.

92. Do something that scares you

We need to attack our fears or they would rule over us. Courage is not the absence of fear. It is going ahead in spite of fear. Find your courage inside of you.

93. Happiness is a journey

Do not waste your life living life for a destination. There is nobody waiting at the top of the mountain with a box where you will find your happiness. The journey of life is either happy or it is not. If you waste your life waiting for the destination, it may never come. Even if it does, you will realize that you were climbing the wrong ladder.

If the journey isn’t joyful, the destination won’t be either.

94. Fall in love

You cannot find real, meaningful happiness unless you find love. Love is at the root of happiness. Unless you connect with people or work that you truly love, you will not experience what it means to be happy.

95. Dare

Dare to live life to its fullest potential and take risks. If you don’t, you would not know what you could have been. I will let Teddy Roosevelt say it, for I can’t say it better:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

96. Care for your happiness

You need to care for your happiness, when nobody else does. You need to ask yourself if what you are doing or about to do makes you happy. If you don’t, nobody else cares.

97. Have a shot at your dreams

Do not let life pass by without having a shot at your dreams. You may fail, but you will not count among the countless those who never dare to achieve their dreams. Your dreams are your real happiness.

98. Be honest to yourself

Be brutally honest to yourself about your feelings. The majority of the world is a living pretense. They are living lives to impress people who are living life to impress them. Don’t join the miserable gang that looks great on social media. Care for how you feel and be brutally honest. Inner happiness often doesn’t make noise.

99. Your happiness is the most important thing in your life

We are here to be happy. Do whatever it takes to achieve that. Nothing else matters-not success, no status, not family, nothing! If you are happy, you can make the world a happier place. Nobody who made the world better was miserable himself.

100. Do NOT EVER GIVE UP on your happiness

Do not give up on your happiness. Hold it dear. Even if it takes a long time to come, do not compromise with mediocrity and misery. Do not tell yourself that you can be happy living a shallow and materialistic life. Your happiness lies in becoming the kind of person you dream to be. Be that person. Do not give up till your last breath.

Happiness comes in different forms. As I mentioned here, there are smaller chunks and bigger chunks of joy, and we need to earn them all. The most important thing to remember about happiness is that it is a journey and not a destination. We should be able to feel happy on a daily basis, just because we are alive to start with, and that’s a blessing. Then, we work on creating more happiness for ourselves and for people we care. Global happiness is the sum total of individual happiness. So, go on and make yourself happy. That’s how we will one day, create a happier world.

Thank you for reading.

The purpose of this blog to help you find your happiness. Please read the other posts on the blog, and follow so that you get updates when new posts are published. Please share any posts you like with your friends so that they can also find their happiness. If you have any feedback for me, please leave it in the comments and I would be happy to work on it. If you would like to support my writing and this blog, you may please send a donation through PayPal here.

I appreciate the time you spent in reading the blog and wish you happiness.

Love,

Amarvani