Because of my areas of specialization, many of my clients experience feelings of depression and anxiety and are affected daily by symptoms that negatively impact their day. Beyond that, it seems that people in general often look for ways to enjoy life more and experience more feelings of happiness. Life is full of daily stressors, hardships, and struggles. But even in the face of adversity and with a host of daily struggles, there are things within your control that can help you feel happier.

The following 7 strategies are science-based tools that, when practiced regularly (especially daily) and particularly when they are used together, can help to increase feelings of contentment, joy, excitement, pleasure, and/or positivity which can culminate in happiness.

Day 1: Wake up to a morning routine

Starting a daily morning routine can be an important way to set the tone for your day. Getting into a nice routine and having something to Whether it be starting with stretching, yoga, a cup of tea or coffee enjoyed on the patio, or looking at memes- beginning your day in *your* way can help you begin your day with positivity.

Day 2: Gratitude List

It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives and forget to notice all of the things that are going well…or at least, good enough. As humans, we are hardwired to focus on the bad stuff. This makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint—those of use who are aware of the bad stuff can take steps to improve things, avoid danger, and so on improving our chances of survival. While this may be really helpful in life-threatening situations, it’s not as useful in our everyday lives.

Taking time to intentionally shift your focus to what is going well, the things that you have, accomplishments, and small successes can help us overwrite our natural way of thinking. You may find that after a short time of focusing on things you’re grateful for, you start to notice these things without trying. Not surprisingly, listing the things you’re grateful for daily increases feelings of happiness as you become more aware of the good in your life.

The biggest barrier I see with clients when practicing a gratitude list is starting too big. Think about the things that you have daily. A good place to start is with being alive. From there you may list gratitude for having a safe place to sleep, food on the table, your health/health of a loved one or pet, having a job (no matter how terrible it may be). Take it from there and try to be mindful of the things that you have that bring you a feeling of gratitude.

Day 3: Eating health meals and snacks

Although you may often think of physical and mental health as being separate, our mind and body are controlled by our brain and as such are interconnected in numerous ways.

Nourishing your body, and therefore brain, allows you to run as optimally as possible. Good nutrition and healthy diets have been found to be associated with better overall health. The opposite is true, too. Multiple mental health concerns have been found to be correlated with poor diets.

Being mindful of choosing healthier options throughout the day can help your body to feel good which can help your mind feel good.

Day 4: Positive affirmations

Taking time every day to recite a positive affirmation to yourself has been shown to help increase feelings of confidence and happiness. Some helpful guidelines when thinking about affirmations are below.

It’s best when they are:
•Based in truth
•Relevant to your life right now
•Simple
•Recited in a meaningful way (not just going trough the motions)
•If you’re really prone to negativity, start with more neutral affirmations instead

A couple examples of positive affirmations could be:
•I make good choices everyday
•I am smart and people see that in me
•I will fill today with joy

More neutral affirmations may look like the following:
•I’m working on accepting myself
•I’ve had better days, but I’ve had worse too
•Today is okay

Continuous, intentional focus on positive affirmations can help you to believe what you tell yourself and feel better in your daily life. Added benefit to practicing affirmations would be to add *action* to your words. If you tell yourself you’re going to make today great - what are you doing to make that happen?

Day 5: Mindfulness and Meditation Practice

I talk a lot about mindfulness/meditation with my clients and share why this is great tool for almost anyone. The ability to diversify why and how you practice mindfulness and the numerous benefits make it one of my favorite single skills to offer to client and friends alike.

Practicing mindfulness or meditation daily helps with improving concentration, decreasing anxiety and stress, and increasing joy in the moment and longer term.

There are no shortage of mindfulness and meditation apps (like this one) and videos (like this one) available for free if you’re looking for a place to start learning this skill.

Day 6: Reduce complaining

We all do it and most of us do it often. Complaining about situations and experiences is normal. However, complaining about situations can cause you to relive those moments bringing up those difficult emotions again and again. Working to minimize complaining can help to increase happiness.

One alternative to complaining is to try problem solving instead. Rather than sharing what made you unhappy, try spending that energy thinking of solutions to change the situation or prevent it from happening again.

Day 7: Accomplish one task per day

Having to complete multiple tasks can feel overwhelming, stressful, or tedious. However, not completing necessary tasks for too long can result in even more stress. When tasks start to accumulate, you may even be unsure of where to begin and procrastinate, further putting off the necessary because beginning can feel too difficult.

Planning to accomplish one or two tasks on your to-do list a day can help break the cycle of mounting stress and subsequent avoidance. Completing a task, particularly an important one, can give you a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Even when it’s difficult to get started, the benefits of completing a task may be worth the effort.

Accomplishing tasks is not always the most enjoyable thing while you’re completing them, but the sense of having and achieving a goal for the day can bring about feelings of happiness and satisfaction.

Think about your tasks and try to plan for the completion of one today. Start with the smallest first step possible and go from there! Much of what is suggested by research to help increase happiness is to do things that you enjoy. This is a great strategy. And, accomplishing a task, regardless of how tedious, can also increase feelings of happiness.

Building an Effective Happiness Toolbox

After 7 days, you may find that you’re beginning to experience more little moments of joy. Pick one of the above strategies to start with. Choose the one that sounds the most exciting or easiest to begin with. From there, add a second tool and then a third when you’re able. You may not be able to do all seven everyday. But keep challenging yourself to add more and more to your daily routine to keep increasing your opportunities to feel happy.