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How to Find Happiness Quickly in 7 Steps

By Operation Meditation

The matter of how to find happiness is not about covering great distances to find a physical thing, but about searching it within or around you. It’s about realizing the quiet beauty of the leaf-dappled shade, or a young child reaching out for her Dad’s hand. Finding happiness, therefore, is recognizing what already exists around you and within you and finding joy in them. To help you achieve this, we have compiled a small list of steps you can take to find it.

1. Hang with shiny, happy people

Birds of a feather flock together, so goes the old saw. If you’re wondering about how to find happiness, you definitely would not find it in the company of dour-faced, gloomy, negativity-emitting people. Hang around with happy, successful people, and let their joy rub off on you.

2. Never abandon your moral compass

You have your own values—your principles regarding fairness and honesty and all the good things you treasure in your heart—and the more you hold on to them, the more at peace you will be with yourself. The moment you do things that are the opposite of what your heart believe, that’s the moment your sense of deep serenity—and also your happiness—crumbles. If you betray your principles in exchange of, say, a truckload of money (thinking that money can make you happy), then you’re actually committing yourself to a lifetime of unhappiness.

3. Work on achieving a greater purpose

Those who live only for themselves are the saddest or the most confused. But those who live to contribute to the greater good of humanity have so much to tell us about how to find happiness—because they have found it and enjoyed it every single day of their lives. Be part of something great—a volunteer program that helps starving kids in another part of the world, or a campaign to make your neighborhood a better place—and the sense of purpose will make you feel a lot better.

4. Don’t be afraid of achievements

Know that you deserve the best, and thereby you should imagine yourself reaping the fruits of your success. Have an ambition and work toward achieving it no matter how seemingly great it is. Many people experience failure because they are actually afraid of getting the awesome thing they desire—you should do the opposite. Never look away when you’re faced with the possibility of success—seize it and own it.

5. Meditate

Meditation enables you to tap into your inner self. It does not even take so much: you only need a few minutes of “alone time”, some simple deep breathing techniques (breathe through the nostrils, exhale through the mouth, deeply and slowly), either while focusing on your breathing and shutting out everything else or stating positive affirmations (“I am deeply happy”) during breathing. Moreover, meditation has scientifically proven physical effects: it enhances the neuroplasticity of the brain and increases the brain’s gray and white matter, while also boosting the production of “feel-good” neurochemicals such as melatonin, GABA and DHEA.

6. Appreciate the simple things and pleasures

Learn to appreciate the small sources of joy around you—a quiet Sunday afternoon, for example, or the taste of your spouse’s pancake. Realize that the world around us has so much to offer to make us happy, and we only have to open our minds and hearts to these sources of joy. Revel in these small pleasures—chances are, they’re all free.

7. Smile like it’s your birthday

Never forget to smile. Smile at strangers, at colleagues at work, at your neighbors. There’s a popular saying that you should always smile as if you’re in love for the first time—you’ll never know who’s actually falling in love with your smile.

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