Five Foundations of Happiness
In order to achieve a content state of mind and permanent happiness there are some important foundations you should spent time on implementing them in your life. Some you might already pay attention too and some you never thought of could affect your happiness.
I thought about five major foundations that will affect your happiness in a positive way:
- Self Love
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- Relationships
- Gratitude / Humbleness
I.) Self Love
One of the core prerequisites in order to be happy is loving yourself genuinely. Start loving yourself and accepting yourself as a human being to the fullest. If you are not in a loving congruent state of mind, there is no chance for you to be happy consistently. A good practice for self-love is writing and talking in a good way to you. Start keeping a diary. It is an act of self-love. Write a letter where you write all your good qualities and hide it for a period of time (e.g. 4 weeks) and then open it after that period of time. See what happens 🙂
When you love yourself genuinely you will not be too harsh all the time and you can accept mistakes and handle struggles better than before. It is important that you spent time alone and without distractions to get to know yourself better. The same way you would date your partner, start dating yourself and get to know the “real you”. This quality time with only you should be something you do on a consistent base. Take a 15 minute walk every day without your phone or music device. Best place to do it is probably the forest or the park.
II.) Exercise
Frequent exercise might be one of the most important concepts for happiness. How many people do you know that exercise regularly and seem unhappy?!
When your body is active you feel alive. You feel parts of your body that you usually do not pay attention to when you are sitting around.
When you exercise you are active you feel more energy and have more power. It benefits your cardio vascular system and is really favorable for your overall stamina.
Being active and fit allows you to get in shape and you will feel good about yourself and like the way you look.
Although I think there is a fine line in today´s selfie-generation where looks matter often too much it is fine to look fit and trained in order for you to like you. When I am not in shape I do feel a lot worse and do not like myself as much when I am in good shape. Exercise is also a great anti-depressant. You get active and you are able to clear your mind of depressing thoughts. I highly recommend working out 5-7 times a week. Running, riding the bike, Yoga or a team sport are all very valuable options.
III.) Nutrition
To achieve a content state of mind, your body and your soul, both have to be fed in a healthy way.
For your mind it is important to read good literature and think positive and not get caught in negative thought clouds too often. Your body will be grateful if you eat fresh healthy food. A lot of food we consume today has so few healthy ingredients.
I actually think it is on the verge of crime what big food companies sell to people nowadays. Take a closer look at the ingredients. Some things you have never heard of.
It is important not to eat processed food often. Also you should avoid mass fabricated meat and dairy products. Those contain so many antibiotics it is affecting your health on a major scale in the long run.
Fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, full grain and pure nuts (without salt or any flavors) should be most of the food you consume.
A couple of years ago I started actively thinking about my nutrition and ever since I am a lot more conscious about my diet. It is important to consume food in a conscious mind state and not eat everything that is out there.
Along with regular exercise your body will feel great if you eat healthy. This will affect your mindset in a very positive way and ultimately strengthen your happiness.
IV.) Relationships
First you need to develop a good relationship with yourself. I talked about this in the first foundation “self-love” already.
The relationships with your family members are equally important. If you are in a dispute with one of your close relatives, it will be very difficult to be happy. I am not talking about a casual argument every once in a while. I know a lot of people, who do not get along with some of their relatives over a long period of time. The fact that they constantly talk about these incidents shows me that it is denying their mind to be free of stress and also prevents them from being happier.
Relationships with friends are important for your happiness as well. Friends are there for you when you go through hard times –e.g. a break up, a sickness, a loss of a family member- in life. But also when things are going great you should take care of your friendships. Vice versa you should be there for your friends when they are sad or in trouble. Having true friends is something that requires honesty, reliability and also sacrifice sometimes. But when you find a true friend he or she is worth fighting for. Even in friendships you will experience challenges but never forget what the person means to you in all regards.
Finally, if you are in a loving relationship with someone, it is very valuable to treat your partner the best way in your power, every day that you spend with them. A lot of people take their partner for granted after the routine kicks in. That will lead to boredom and sometimes a relationship that is meant to fulfill and bring joy becomes quite the opposite. Therefore, you should remind yourself that you chose your partner and for what reasons.
If a relationship is working out it will be a huge factor for your happiness. However, happiness should never be defined by having a partner or not.
V.) Gratitude / Humbleness
Developing a form of gratitude and being humble in life affects your happiness dramatically. Most of unhappy moments occur when we compare and want something that we do not have at this very moment, e.g. a better job, a partner, a house, a new car, a better looking body etc.
STOP!
Just take a deep breath! Be grateful that you can enjoy breathing clean air right now. Not everyone can claim that privilege for themselves.
You should really start appreciating things that most of us take for granted every day. Things such as the sun, food, a shelter, your health, your education, your safety, the luxury of traveling, your ability to find a job, your family, your friends, your partner, the list can go on forever. When I travelled to Thailand in 2015 I saw Buddhist monks for the first time in my life. They owned so little and yet they seemed so happy. Their eyes were spreading gratefulness and it made me so happy being around them. Gratitude is something, especially in the culture I grew up is not taught so much. Competition from an early age – our school systems are built that way – makes it easy to forget how to be grateful and humble. We always strive for something bigger, something better in the future. We tend to forget what we have and that in most cases it is more than enough to be happy.
So next time you catch yourself in an unhappy moment or in a bad train of thought just remember to be grateful and remind yourself how lucky you are even if you read these words. In some countries the majority of people cannot even read! Again be humble about it.
At the end I want to share my personal philosophy of happiness:
I realized that happiness is something I decide and I choose and it is worth working for it. I have the choice to be happy, every single day!