What is it that happy and fulfilled people do that makes them so different to failures and depressives? A new book, 1000 Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently by spiritual advisors Marc and Angel, seeks to answer that question.
Here are their top five tips for a happier existence:
- Spend time with people you have fun with and who love and respect you. You will have a much better time in their company and won’t feel pressure to impress or conform to someone else’s expectations of you.
- Don’t avoid life’s problems and challenges. You shouldn’t be a slave to your problems, you should be able to overcome them by confronting them head-on. Action and discipline are the key requirements here. Don’t ignore or evade the trickier aspects of life as this will mean you are living in a state of denial. Ultimately that will only lead to misery.
- Be honest about everything. You can’t live a fulfilled life without being honest about what you want, what you need and who you want to be with. The Ancient Greek adage ‘know thyself’ is so important here – you cannot begin to be happy unless you know who you are and are satisfied with it.
- Make yourself your main priority. This isn’t about being selfish, it’s about taking care of your needs. Far too many people invest all their energy in trying to please others or change their lives, when in fact they ought to focus on themselves first.
- Be yourself – always and forever. Everybody is an individual and there’s no point trying to be someone else – that’s a surefire recipe for un-happiness. You have thoughts and feelings that are completely unique and you should be proud of that.
