5 ways to cultivate happiness

What kind of images come to your head when you think about"happiness" ? Do you think of people celebrating? Or perhaps you think of children running around the playground, smiling and having nothing to worry about? Maybe you think of a happily married couple, or two best friends laughing together. Or maybe you think of people simply smiling and laughing, enjoying their time. For me , when I think of the word "happiness", I immediately picture people laughing so hard at a joke that they start crying. I think of teletubbies, monkeys, and flowers. I think of friends going out together and people accomplishing their dreams. At the end of the day, there are many different images that people associate with happiness because happiness is different for everyone.

A general definition of happiness is "the state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy" (source: WolframAlpha). In life, a lot of people are "on the pursuit of happiness" and it is definitely hard to constantly be happy with the many challenges and hardships that life throws at us. In my opinion, the way happiness is achieved is different for everyone, because everyone has their unique personality, perspectives, and interests. However, I still wanted to share a little on some of the things that help me be happy in my life. I hope you find these to be encouraging and helpful!

1. Faith

I am a Christian, so my main source of happiness comes from my faith. I understand that not everyone holds the same beliefs as me, so feel free to skip this section if you would like. Christians believe that people have sinned and done wrong against a perfect God, and therefore deserve eternal punishment in hell. However, Christians also believe that God sent his son, Jesus, to the world to die for peoples' sins, and that whoever believes in God and repents for their sins will be granted eternal life in heaven. Christians believe that heaven is the best place to be because they will finally be united with God and there will no longer be sadness, death, pain, and other bad things people experience on Earth. As a result, Christians' happiness lies in the promise of being in heaven with God after death on Earth. Christians live their lives everyday with the purpose of glorifying God, which is something that brings great happiness to their lives. For me, being a Christian grants me happiness by knowing that I have a purpose in life to glorify God, and that I will be with God in heaven after my life is over.

me in a play for my church

2. Exercise

Exercise is one of my favorite activities to do in my free time, and I enjoy playing basketball, playing tennis, and dancing. Doing these kinds of exercises are fun for me and thus bring a lot of happiness to my life. I'm also pretty competitive so I feel even happier when I win a game of basketball or tennis. Besides those three activities, I also try to workout in order to get my body in the best shape for the physical activities I do enjoy. Honestly I don't like working out, but even so I can't deny how refreshed I feel after a challenging workout. In addition to being fun, exercise allows me to sweat and stay fit, which makes me happy about myself and the decisions I am making for my health. I would definitely recommend everyone to get exercise of some kind to be healthy and experience a plethora of scientifically proven benefits.

I like tennis

3. take fun, short breaks

Another way I cultivate happiness in my life is that I take short breaks often where I drink water and do a non-stressful activity for a while. For me, this means shooting hoops outside for a bit, messing around on the drums, playing a quick game of League, or watching an episode of a tv show. Doing so allows me to have fun and unwind a bit. By making sure I do fun things everyday, there is always something to look forward to even on a busy or tiring day. After my short breaks, I tend to be able to focus better and think more clearly on whatever task I am working on. I would encourage you to find something not stressful and accessible that you enjoy doing and do it everyday. Maybe this means browsing memes, knitting, or gardening. However, be careful to be disciplined and not be distracted by these short breaks. I know sometimes I tell myself that I will take a 10 minute break to watch YouTube videos but 1 hour later I am still clicking on video after video, so watch out!

Haikyuu is an anime I have been watching for fun recently. (source: Haikyuu anime)

4. spend time with friends

Probably my favorite thing to do in life is spend time with friends. For me, it is always fun spending time with friends no matter what we are doing: eating together, going to the mall, playing sports, or simply talking. Conversations with my friends are always some of the highlights of my everyday life, and spending time with them energizes me. I know I can count on my friends for encouragement, accountability, advice, and a fun time, and I know that I will be there for them if they need anything as well. The relationships I have formed with people have been such a blessing in my life and I believe that happy relationships are a key part of happiness.

pictured: my imaginary friend

5. daydream

One last thing that helps me be happy in my life is daydreaming. When I am tired or stressed from schoolwork, it encourages me to think of the future career and life I want because I know that I will have to put in the work to achieve those goals. When I am feeling down in general, it cheers me up to think about ideal future events. Daydreaming helps me become more aware of goals I have for the future, and as a result I feel more motivated to figure out how I will achieve these goals. I also find daydreaming about random things like what would happen if I tried to high-five everyone on bruin walk, having superpowers, or living in another world to be fun and interesting. Nevertheless, it is important to not get clouded judgement from daydreams, and to stay grounded in reality as well.

me in my daydreams. (source: Mark Blinch Photography)