Whether we are busy building or changing careers, enjoying raising our families, coping with a major life transition, or just muddling along, one common theme is that we all wish to feel happier or more joyful and have a greater sense of well-being.

When you are in a good frame of mind, if you’re happy, it is easier to react to whatever life throws at you. You generally have greater clarity, find making decisions easier and feel more confident in yourself and your abilities. All of which is exactly what most of my clients desire.

Why focus on happiness?

Before we go any further, let’s cover some additional reasons why focusing on boosting our happiness is important. Put simply, extensive scientific research has shown that happy people experience the following;

better physical health,
greater longevity,
more fulfilling personal relationships,
increased job satisfaction, and
tend to contribute more to the community around them.

Which all sounds pretty good!

And so, to support you to boost your happiness, here are my top 7 tips to do just that.

Boost your happiness: 7 Tips

1. Know and embrace your strengths

“Choice not chance determines your destiny”

— Aristotle

Knowing your strengths, and actively working with and embracing them supports you know yourself better. In addition, knowing your strengths helps you identify aspects in your work that genuinely align with the things you are good at and love to do. Plus, when you utilise your strengths, it can bring greater clarity, increased confidence, and a deep sense of contentment in and with your life.

The 24-character strengths covered in the VIA Strengths survey are universal in that they are found in all cultures across the world. Strengths can be described as your superpowers. Everybody’s combination of strengths is unique to them, and this is what makes you, YOU.

The more you apply your strengths in your work and life, the happier and more fulfilled you will be. Having regular opportunities to use your character strengths in a meaningful way, is a key characteristic of a flourishing life.

Take action: Complete the (free) VIA Character Strengths survey. You’ll receive a summary report which will rank all 24-character strengths from your signature strengths (your top 3-7) through to 24. And if you’d like an in-depth, personalised report, check out my Clarity Kickstart.

2. Connect with meaning and purpose

The pursuit of happiness for happiness’s sake is great for helping us feel good, but to truly have deep, lasting happiness, we need to combine the pursuit of happiness with living a meaningful life .

Meaningful activities don’t have to be earth-shattering. Indeed, our work (paid or not) is the thing we do with our lives to improve society and life for others. Alternatively, we can find significant meaning through giving back to the community, volunteering for a cause we’re passionate about, raising our family, or pursuing work that we feel makes a difference. All of these add a sense of purpose and meaning to your life.

A note on purpose. Purpose, like passion, can be a potential stumbling block for many of my clients. Specifically, when we are unsure what our purpose is, we can feel we are somehow failing. Instead of being absolutely wedded to the idea of a single life purpose, I believe it is more important to live aligned with your values and intentionally choose how you show up in the world each day. If, for example, you have an overarching mission to make a difference in the world, that will guide you. Your purpose and each stage of your life may vary a little, but it’s likely your actions will still be aligned with that overarching mission.

Ultimately, having a sense of purpose and doing something that contributes to making a difference in the world gives your life meaning. A meaningful life is directly correlated with feeling good about ourselves.

Take action: Determine what a meaningful life looks like for you by starting with your values. Simply ask yourself, “What do I care about?” and then capture everything that comes up for you. Group the resulting list into themes, and you’ll have a high-level summary of your values.

3. Be grateful and express it often

Scientific research has consistently proven that being grateful and expressing gratitude is a major contributor to happiness. Plus, one of the biggest contributors to personal happiness is a connection with others. And, because people like to be around other people who are happy, gratitude boosts your happiness twice over.

Thus, gratitude and regular practice of gratitude are major contributors to feeling happier and having a happier life.

Additionally, scientific research suggests that people who are grateful and practice regular gratitude can look back on previous traumatic experiences and find more reasons to be grateful for the experience. They show greater resilience and the ability to remain positive despite their experiences.

In essence, gratitude helps us take care of the emotional business in our lives.

Take action; Record three (3) things you are grateful for. To guide you, here are some prompts, but you can share anything you are grateful for.

Things you might be grateful for include;

A home to live in
Your health
Your family
Cuddles with your child or fur baby
Your friends
A smile from a stranger
Enjoying your favourite meal or dish

4. Show empathy

Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share another person's feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.

Empathy can be put into action by giving back. When we help others or do something kind for someone else, we are demonstrating empathy, which can also contribute to our own happiness and well-being.

Making donations and signing petitions can help us feel good, but there is something particular about being hands-on and present with people or creatures less fortunate than ourselves. It helps us see our own lives from a better perspective. Even if the process can be slightly confronting, by doing something for others and walking in their shoes, we can increase our own sense of happiness and peace.

Take action: Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and attempt to understand their perspective. It could be your spouse, a parent, a neighbour, or your children. Put your device down, be present, and actively listen to those around you. Be open to hearing their stories.

5. Be present, here and now

Mindfulness is a bit like meditation in that it aims to bring us into the present moment. We spend so much time thinking about the future and having regrets about the past that it is easy to miss the present, which is the only time that is real and where true happiness lies.

Many of us find ourselves thinking “I was happy in the past at such and such a time” but that time is gone. Or we find ourselves thinking, “I’ll be happy in the future when I’ve done this, achieved that, got this, gone on holiday...” and so on. Again, we are wishing away our lives. The future is not guaranteed to anyone.

Our aim is to be here now, live our lives fully and consciously, and choose thoughts to be happy.

Take action: Focus your attention and choose not to multi-task! For at least five minutes, be fully present. Choose to do one (or more) of these suggested ideas;

Savour the taste of what you eat.
Really listen and hear the sounds around you.
Look up and around and see the changing seasons.
Lift your gaze skyward and marvel at the sky.

6. Do what you love, and love what you do

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
- Albert Schweitzer

My wise mother gave me similar advice when I was in high school. I was considering changing my subjects for my final year exams and was feeling unclear as to what would be right for me. My father’s advice heavily leaned toward encouraging me to study subjects that were career-focused (like business studies and economics), but my mother’s advice was simple; do what you love, and you will do well.

Indeed, one of the most well-known longitudinal studies undertaken in the 20th century (the Harvard Grant Study, started in 1939 and still going) found the happiest people are those who can express aspects of themselves that feel vital to them and that make them feel alive and joyful. Indeed, through the study, it was found that being able to express the core of who you are is more important than taking a particular life path when looking at happiness and longevity.

Finding what brings us joy, and expressing it is clearly a major contributor to happiness!

Thus, it’s scientifically proven that when we do what we love, we will find far more success. Plus, you’ll feel fulfilled and satisfied in your life and experience greater meaning and purpose from what you do. As I’ve shared above, that is the true key to boosting your happiness.

Take action. Identify what you love to do. Here is a three-step approach to support you in doing that.

7. Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements

Finally, acknowledging and celebrating our achievements is a major contributor to happiness, and to our confidence too.

As humans, we are wired to focus on the negative or the next thing. Put simply, this approach ensures we are always alert to danger and has kept our ancestors alive. However, this predisposition can hinder our ability to acknowledge and celebrate our wins. When we take a moment to reflect upon what we’ve done in our lives, the actions we have taken we invariably realise we are stronger, more resilient, and more focused than we perhaps thought. Taking pride in our achievements provides a boost to our self-confidence, as well as our sense of well-being. Thus, acknowledging our sense of achievement and accomplishment helps boost our happiness.

Take action: Look back on your week, month, quarter, or year and create your ‘ta-dah’ list. On a ta-dah list, instead of capturing all your to-do’s, you capture all the things you’ve done. That is, you acknowledge the things you’ve accomplished, the tasks completed and how they made you feel. So, all that’s left to ask is, what are you celebrating?

Save to pinterest as a reminder of how to boost your happiness

Being happier improves your self-confidence

To return to the question we started with at the top of this article, why happiness? When we are happier, we are more optimistic, and we see the world and ourselves in a more positive way, which in turn leads us to feel more self-confident. When we are happy, we find it easier to gain and maintain belief in ourselves and our abilities.

Confidence is also improved when we accomplish goals, tasks, or actions. When we make a conscious decision to work towards our goal, make progress and then celebrate our success, we are building our confidence. You can get started by deciding which one of these 7 tips you’d like to tackle and take the suggested action shared. In that way, you’ll feel happier, gain clarity, and boost your confidence.

You’re welcome. 😊

When you want more

As a career and life confidence coach, I work with people who want to make changes in their lives, whether it be to discover a career or business full of purpose and meaning or create a life they love. The accountability and confidence they gain from working with me support them in moving into and staying in action to make their goals happen.

A confidence package, which includes six individual coaching sessions, starts with a complimentary consult where, together, we can determine if coaching with me is right for you. Get started today – simply book your call.

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