Happiness is a choice. You can take measures to make yourself happy, or you can choose to remain in the status quo and continue being unhappy. It’s probably safe to say those with sound mind are going to choose happiness over unhappiness. It’s common sense, isn’t it? 

But what most people don’t know is that they don’t need to think of overly grandiose schemes to finally end up happy. I’m going to share with you five surprisingly simple ways you can be happy. 

Tip #1: Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep Every Night

How do you feel when you don’t get enough sleep at night?  Grumpy, probably. When you go about your day, you'll find yourself dozing off or just staring blankly into space. Your energy levels are going to be so low; you’ll find it hard to keep up with everything that’s happening around you. 

When you lack sleep, you’ll be less productive at work. If you drink coffee, you’ll probably be drinking several cups just to get your energy levels up. As you probably know, consuming too much caffeine will have adverse effects on your health. Additionally, when you consistently lack sleep, you’ll eventually weaken your immune system thus making you more prone to sickness and disease.

On the other hand, when you get a good night’s sleep, you wake up in a much better mood. You’re more alert, you can think quickly on your feet, you’re not going to fall asleep in your desk, or worse, in your car. You’ll feel less stressed, and you'll have so much more energy to last you throughout the day. 

But how do you get good enough sleep at night?

Well, there are quite a few ways. For one, you can go to bed early at night especially if you know you’re going to be up early the next day. Aim for at least 6-8 hours of sleep. Instead of watching television or scrolling social media on your phone, head straight to bed. You’ll need to have plenty of self-discipline, however, to make sure this gets done. It’s so easy to ignore this advice and continue watching TV late at night. 

Another technique you can use is to reduce blue light exposure at night. Your computer screen and your phone emit large amounts of blue light. You can dim the screen brightness or use apps to filter out the blue light; this puts less strain on your eyes.  

Make your bedroom easy to sleep in as well. Turn down the temperature and if possible, remove all gadgets from the room. This means no TV, computers, and phones inside your bedroom. Try to implement this tip and experience a much better quality of sleep. When you consistently get a good night’s sleep, your happiness levels will also rise. 

Tip #2: Regular Exercise

You probably already know the benefits of exercise. Whether you’re trying to lose or gain weight, exercise and proper diet is your best friend. Exercise gives you an incredible boost of energy you’re not going to find anywhere else. 

While you may think it’s counter-intuitive to exercise when you’re already physically tired, it’s actually a pretty good idea. No matter how tired or sluggish you feel, once you exercise you’d feel all these melt away, only to be replaced by a fountain of energy. 

Here’s why:

When you exercise, a chemical known as ‘dopamine’ is released into the bloodstream. Instead of making you feel stressed, dopamine does the exact opposite and make you feel better after you exercise. Now the thing is, dopamine isn’t in tablet or capsule form, so it’s not something you can take when you feel like it. 

If you want the rush dopamine gives you, then you need to start moving and work out!

In addition to boosting your energy levels, exercise also reduces anxiety and lessens stress. It also helps you improve your fitness which leads to more confidence. Because of these, people who exercise are generally happier than those who don’t. 

If you’re wondering when the best time to exercise is, it’s really up to you. Some people prefer morning right before they head to work while others prefer nighttime to tire them out and make them fall asleep faster. Try exercising in the morning and at night and see which schedule works best for you.

Tip #3: Surround yourself with happy people

As the saying goes, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.” If we follow this logic, then it means that if your friends are happy people, then you’re also a happy person. 

On the other hand, if you’re surrounded by Negative Nancy’s and Debbie Downer’s, then who’s to say you’re not like them? As they say, misery loves company. Instead of wanting other’s to succeed, these negative people want to drag others down to their depths. They get jealous of others’ happiness. Obviously, if you want to be happy, these aren’t the kind of people you should be surrounding yourself with. 

But how do you go about attracting happy people over to your side? They’re not exactly going to be flocking over if you’re a negative sort of person. Therefore, if you want happy people to give you the time of day, you’d need to reinvent yourself.

To begin with, learn to smile naturally and laugh easily. Be more appreciative of what you do have in life – don’t take anything for granted. Write down all the things you’re thankful for. 

For instance, be thankful you’re healthy. You have family and friends who care about you. You have a good job that pays you good money and is not driving you to an early grave, and so much more. Doing this will help you realize how very fortunate you are – you have a thousand and one reasons to be happy!

While some people may say you can fake happiness, it’s not advisable. Instead of being happy, you’re going to stress yourself out trying to present a happy face in public. Also, when you keep up your fakery for a long time, you may eventually develop feelings of resentment. You’d start to resent genuinely happy people. You’ll start thinking how unfair it is that their happiness comes so naturally to them while you have to work hard just to convince others you look happy! 

Lastly, try practicing visualizations and affirmations. Tell yourself you’re happy and you’re doing great. Visualize yourself actually being happy, and you’ll do everything in your power to make your vision come true. 

It may sound silly right now, but when you really put your heart and your mind into it (while thinking about all the good things in your life), then you’ll see this trick will work like magic. This technique has worked for countless individuals. Don’t believe me? Try it and watch your happiness improve overnight!

Tip #4: Get out of your comfort zone and do something different

When was the last time you tried something new? Yesterday? Last week? Last year? Last decade? If plenty of time has passed by since you last stepped out of your comfort zone, then you need to do something about it. 

When you keep on doing the same things over and over again, then you’re going to get the same results. This means that if you’ve been unhappy, then staying in your comfort zone can only mean your unhappiness is going to continue for the foreseeable future. The only way, therefore, if you want to be happy, is to do something different. 

As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life. Life would be unimaginably boring if you did the same things all the time. Having a routine is important because it gives your life a semblance of order and stability. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to sneak in something fun and unscheduled from time to time. 

For instance, your daily routine probably looks like this: wake up, take a shower, eat breakfast, go to work, go back home, eat dinner, sleep.

If you follow this routine day in and day out, then you’re most probably going to be bored after a few days. If you’re unhappy with this routine, then perhaps you may want to consider adding a workout schedule a few days a week or have a couple of nights where you go out with friends. And then on your days off from work, you schedule some fun activities like swimming, learning some new skills, etc. There are a million things you could be doing instead of merely sticking to a single routine that’s obviously making you unhappy. 

If, for some reason, you find it extremely hard to get out of your comfort zone, then you need to figure out the reason why. If you’re standing in the way of your happiness, then it’s absolutely imperative you do something about it! 

Otherwise, you could spend the rest of your life unhappy. 

If you’re always saying “no” to new opportunities and challenges, then it’s time to start saying “yes.” Stop feeding yourself excuses and go out there and have fun! If you’re afraid of making a mistake, don’t be. Learn from the error of your ways and do better on your next attempt. Don’t stop experimenting until you figure out how you can be happy for the rest of your life. 

Tip #5: Make someone else happy 

You’re responsible for your own happiness, not others. But did you know that one of the best ways to create a happy life for yourself is to make other people happy? You’ve probably experienced it before. You give someone close to you a special gift. You watch their eyes light up or even tear up with joy. Didn’t it bring you a lot of joy as well? I bet it did! 

There’s something magical about knowing you caused someone else’s happiness. You know you did a good thing because you see it with your very own eyes. The good thing is you don’t need to buy everybody thoughtful gifts just to make them happy. In fact, it doesn’t take much to make other people happy!

So, here are a few ways you can make a positive difference in someone’s life:

• Be a good listener. Sometimes you don’t need to do a lot of talking to make someone happy. Being a good listener is enough, especially if your friend has got a lot of negative things to unload. 
• Smile more often. You never know who’s having a bad day. Perhaps it’s the cashier at your favorite supermarket or your colleague who’s been looking close to tears all day long. Or how about that random stranger on the street who looks like they’re carrying the world on their shoulder. 
• Say something sincere. A nice compliment can totally make someone’s day. But don’t just go off saying things you don’t really mean. For this method to work, you need to actually mean what you’re saying. 
• Say “thank you.” We often take the people closest to us for granted. Learn how to say thank you and mean it. Thank your parents, your siblings, your spouse, your children, your friends, and others who’ve made your day – and your life - more bearable. 
• Show and share your positivity. Think of your positivity as a light that you’re going to shine on your surroundings. Encourage people to go after their dreams, be courteous, give good advice, and just be a good friend to hang out with. 

If you’ve been down in the dumps for some time and you’ve been wondering if you’ll ever be happy again, just remember that happiness can come from many different places, even in unlikely ones. 

Start by getting enough sleep each night, go for a walk and move your body. Learn new skills or pick up a new hobby. Just go out there and do something that doesn’t belong in your comfort zone. Lastly, don’t just focus on yourself, make others happy too, and you’ll quickly see your happiness levels go up!