By Paige Reist | Posted: April 16, 2018
We might celebrate the dawn of the new year in January, but there's no time that feels more like a true beginning than spring. After the long, cozy, and restful months of winter, springtime is rich with new life and new opportunities for growth.
According to research, most of us have probably already slipped up on our New Year's resolutions. But spring is the perfect time to recommit yourself to becoming happier. It might sound trite, but you can actually choose to invite happiness into your life -- you have that power! No matter your circumstances or conditions, you are not doomed to an existence of dissatisfaction, yearning, jealousy, ill health, and bad luck. No matter what life throws your way, you always have the ability to choose patterns of happiness, fulfillment, and peace.
Join a Free workshop on Yoga, Meditation and Breath
One of the easiest and most effective way to bring happiness into your life is to focus on the health of your relationships, to spread kindness, forgiveness, and generosity, and to enrich the lives of those around you by sharing joy, laughter, and peace. This can be as simple as smiling at everyone you meet, making time for those you love, or putting in some volunteer time at an organization you believe in.
Making the world a happier place starts with nurturing your own happiness from within. Here are five ways to embrace this spring as a season of happiness and growth.
1. Allow yourself to experience the full range of your emotions.
Although it may seem counterintuitive at first, letting yourself feel your emotions, especially the negative ones, helps you understand yourself better and make positive changes. Instead of ignoring the discomfort that comes along with a negative emotion, learn how to sit with it and listen to the lesson that it is trying to teach you -- about yourself, the people you surround yourself with, and the way that you live your life. The only way out, as they say, is through.
2. Indulge in the beauty of new experiences.
We are an intensely creative species. Every single day, there is beauty being poured into the world, and experiencing this beauty is incredibly healthy for your soul. Take some time to listen to a new album or podcast, go to an art gallery or museum, or read a book. Book a trip to somewhere you’ve never been before, or even just go for a drive!
Exposing yourself to ideas, perspectives, people, and places that you’ve never experienced expands your mind and feeds your spirit. It also has this great way of helping you to put your own life into context, and deepens your understanding of both yourself and the world.
3. Pace your life down.
Life is complicated enough already, so why make it more so? Think about your habits, hobbies, activities, and social groups -- do they rejuvenate and invigorate you, or do they drain you and stress you out? See where you can pare your life down, and use that newfound time to work on yourself, and to focus on activities that do nurture you, like fitness, creativity, healthy relationships, and spiritual development.
4. Get into your body.
Your body is so much more than just the vessel for your soul. It is connected to every part of you, and it is the tool you use to express yourself in the world. Reset your focus to healthy, attainable goals, like learning how your body connects to your breath, getting more fresh air and sunshine, eating healthy for most of your meals, and moving your body in new and different ways.
5. Cultivate quiet.
Despite the many ways that technology makes our lives easier, it seems that we’re growing less and less comfortable with any sort of quiet. We can’t even wait for the bus or put ourselves to bed without staring at our phone. But your mind needs downtime! Start to work up to a practice of silence by putting down your devices when you would usually be scrolling mindlessly through them. Then, try practicing silence for five minutes, ten, half an hour, two hours, etc. Even the smallest measure of quietude can make a huge different, but extended periods of silence can have an absolutely transformative effect on your life.
No matter what measures you take to invite happiness in, remember that a journey is made up of many small steps. As the world outside blooms into life, making a commitment to increase your happiness is the perfect way to kick off the true beginning of the year.
Paige Leigh Reist is a lifestyle writer and the blogger behind thewholesomehandbook.com.
