Keys to Being Happy

Sometimes I can overcomplicate things

(Insert space here for all who know me to roll their eyes and say “WHAT!? YOU? NOOOO!”)

Yeah, I get it.

I can take a straight simple question like “How was your day today” and turn it into a 40-minute monologue about the existential significance of introspection and the difficulties of every day life.

“Yuck,” I know.

So I am paying attention to the simple things. At the end of the day, I believe all of our desires in life boil down to being happy. So how can we learn to be happier without overcomplicating the process?

How about a series of posts titled

Simple Ways to Be Happy!

Simple Ways to Be Happy is a series of practical keys to being happy presented in short, one-minute tips. These tips will show you how to find happiness within yourself and love your life.

I know, I know…that sounds like another empty promise from a wide-eyed, wannabe influencer who just says silly tropes like:

“Choose to be happy!”

“Love your life no matter what”

“Smile until your cheeks hurt!”

I get it. I don’t want to be that. That’s why I’m doing this. These are short, simple, and practical. No frills, no fluff, no million-dollar yacht dream chasing here…

just simple ways to happier living.

But there is one caveat.

These will NOT work, not even a little bit, if you are not willing to try them, try them consistently, and keep trying them.

Everything in life takes practice. If you want to be or become good at ANY SINGLE THING on the planet, you have to do it over and over and over again.

If you want to be a great athlete, you have to practice every day.
If you want to be physically strong, you have to lift weights several times a week.
If you want to play the cello, you have to spend countless hours scratching the wrong strings and making your dog wet the floor with the harrowing sounds you blast into his ear drums (not that I have experience in this or anything…).

Everything we do takes practice, yet for some reason we have convinced ourselves that happiness is only one decision away.

It’s not.

There are no silver bullets to being happy.

Happier living is is not immediate.
Happier living is not found in a new car.
Happier living is not found in a new spouse.

Happier living is not miraculously discovered when you leave that sh***y job that sucked the life out of you and are not doing “exactly what you always wanted.”

Even dream jobs are hard work, energy-draining, and still have ways in which they suck. Even greener grass taste terrible when you try to live off it for food.

Happier living is built.

It comes with practice.
You create a happier life by trying things that don’t seem all that fun, like drinking more water and eating less sugar.

I wont promise you happiness now, but I will promise you that if you PRACTICE these things regularly,

once a day
a couple times a week
even ONCE A WEEK!

This is what really changed my life personally. And Ironically, the life coach I started going to that taught me a lot of this recently renamed his podcast Simple Ways to Have a Good Life.

Sorry, James…but imitation is the greatest form of flattery, right? (Check out James Scott Henson for more incredible info on how to be a happy person and love your life no matter what you do).

I will tell you from experience, you may not notice a difference at first, but a few months or even a full year from now, when you look back at this time in your life you will be able to say,

“Damn…I really am happier. Not much has changed but I like my life better than I used to.”

And THAT is what I call a victory.

So stay tuned for Simple Ways to Happier Living and get start working now to change your mindset about what it takes to be happier and to love your life.

Next: Simple Ways to Happier Living #1: Get Better Sleep

Keys to being happy