{"id":50931,"date":"2017-07-25T20:06:34","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T04:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=50931"},"modified":"2017-09-12T14:11:50","modified_gmt":"2017-09-12T22:11:50","slug":"5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

<\/p>\n

In 2015, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, was declared the happiest person in the world. This was based on a study by the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience in Wisconsin, where Ricard\u2019s scores were sometimes off the charts. Being a monk is a life calling that not many of us will pursue, and being in the \u201cregular\u201d world does have a different set of challenges you may argue. But surely, attaining happiness should be possible for everyone. Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!<\/p>\n

Here are 5 proven ways to increase your overall happiness today:<\/em><\/p>\n

Find your purpose and follow it<\/strong><\/h1>\n

A lot of the unhappiness in our lives comes from doing what doesn\u2019t make us happy, every single day.<\/p>\n

This definition of insanity is very applicable here. If your work doesn\u2019t satisfy you, if you go in there every day thinking that today will be better, then you might be an optimist. But you are also unhappy and according to Einstein, insane. Think back on what you did naturally, what you were drawn to do, when you were a young child. How did you occupy your days? Did you have a fascination with making plans and executing them? Or were you always designing something new and wonderful, or planning the next big thing that can make you money? In these juvenile past-times might lie the key to your true purpose, that one thing that you enjoy above all else. Find your purpose and follow it. It is essential to your long term emotional health.<\/p>\n

Eliminate negativity from your life<\/h1>\n

Negativity has never harboured happiness. By listening to and participating in negative conversations, you only take on more negativity. Some people love to complain, about anything and everything. Don\u2019t spend time with these people, they drain your energy. Surround yourself with positivity and you will also be more positive. Make it a state of mind. When a negative thought comes up, don\u2019t entertain it. And when you catch yourself saying something negative, rephrase it to turn it around. Soon you\u2019ll notice that the world is a much better place!<\/p>\n

Find joy and spread it<\/h1>\n

There is joy to found everywhere around us, and often it is in the small details. Like the person who allows you cut in front of them in the traffic, or savouring that early morning coffee while everything is still quiet and calm. Learn to recognize the joy in the everyday and you will start to see it everywhere. Equally important is bringing joy to others. A small favour, or a bigger-than-accepted tip, a kind word or a compliment. The little things all add up to make life happier for yourself and for those around you.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness\u201d.<\/p>\n

Charles Spurgeon<\/p>\n

Stop Talking and Start to Listen<\/h1>\n

We tend to spend our days spreading our opinion and trying to matter. And a lot of that conversation is in our heads. Stop the constant chatter, inside and out, find a quiet spot, and listen. The happiest people in the world are those that have learnt to listen \u2013 whether it is meditation, prayer, yoga or another practice. In the silence, that which what acclaimed life coach Martha Beck in her book, Finding Your Own North Star, calls wordlessness, we often find peace, answers and happiness.<\/p>\n

Sleep well, eat well, live well<\/h1>\n

Your body is a very real extension of what is going on in your mind. Look after your body by feeding it the right nutrients, by getting enough sleep and by purposefully taking time for physical activities. Not everyone loves doing sports, but even playing with your kids or dogs or choosing to walk to the corner shop instead of driving will make all the difference in your mood.<\/p>\n

With these simple tools to increase your overall happiness, go and seek out happiness all around you \u2013 because it is there!<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be happy, be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo Tolstoy<\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0Brandi Redd<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2015, Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, was declared the happiest person in the world. This was based on a study by the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience in Wisconsin, where Ricard\u2019s scores were sometimes off the charts. Being a monk is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12323,"featured_media":50952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32,6],"tags":[463,961,4653,4641,895,66,4629],"yoast_head":"\n5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.baretsolot\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-26T04:06:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-09-12T22:11:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-25-at-5.24.47-PM.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"514\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"342\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/ann_baret\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ann.baret\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-25-at-5.24.47-PM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-25-at-5.24.47-PM.png\",\"width\":514,\"height\":342},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/\",\"name\":\"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-26T04:06:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-09-12T22:11:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f786bfc1b4d7cb6bf0ea7c30a7338623\"},\"description\":\"Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f786bfc1b4d7cb6bf0ea7c30a7338623\",\"name\":\"ann.baret\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c07613cffb025d36ea8054adfd3e4eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c07613cffb025d36ea8054adfd3e4eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ann.baret\"},\"description\":\"I have trained in various personal development modalities with some of the world\u2019s best teachers and have been to workshops and read more books than most people I knew. In a driven quest to \u2018fix\u2019 myself I have tried more therapies than anyone I know, and trained in some of them. I\u2019m impatient and intolerant in the absence of integrity, trust and accountability; I stand for high quality and hold myself to a high standard. I believe pretty much anything is possible and am still learning (often, the hard way) not to confuse that with \u2018I can do everything right now\u2019. I bring my 20 years of experience in the corporate world with my in-depth knowledge of human behaviour and a passion not only for excellence but for transformation and collaboration. Information and motivation have a place, I know \u2026. but transformation, now that gets my juices flowing!\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/annbaret.co.za\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.baretsolot\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/ann_baret\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/ann-baret\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness","description":"Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness","og_description":"Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/","og_site_name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.baretsolot","article_published_time":"2017-07-26T04:06:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-09-12T22:11:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":514,"height":342,"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-25-at-5.24.47-PM.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/ann_baret","twitter_site":"@pickthebrain","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ann.baret","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/","name":"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-25-at-5.24.47-PM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Screen-Shot-2017-07-25-at-5.24.47-PM.png","width":514,"height":342},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/","name":"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2017-07-26T04:06:34+00:00","dateModified":"2017-09-12T22:11:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f786bfc1b4d7cb6bf0ea7c30a7338623"},"description":"Happiness is a state of mind so like any other state of mind, it can be adjusted. However, we get so caught up in how miserable we are, that we do not have the ability to see that being happy is as simple as \u2013 well, being happy!","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-proven-ways-to-increase-your-overall-happiness\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Proven Ways to Increase Your Overall Happiness"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f786bfc1b4d7cb6bf0ea7c30a7338623","name":"ann.baret","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c07613cffb025d36ea8054adfd3e4eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c07613cffb025d36ea8054adfd3e4eea?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ann.baret"},"description":"I have trained in various personal development modalities with some of the world\u2019s best teachers and have been to workshops and read more books than most people I knew. In a driven quest to \u2018fix\u2019 myself I have tried more therapies than anyone I know, and trained in some of them. I\u2019m impatient and intolerant in the absence of integrity, trust and accountability; I stand for high quality and hold myself to a high standard. I believe pretty much anything is possible and am still learning (often, the hard way) not to confuse that with \u2018I can do everything right now\u2019. I bring my 20 years of experience in the corporate world with my in-depth knowledge of human behaviour and a passion not only for excellence but for transformation and collaboration. Information and motivation have a place, I know \u2026. but transformation, now that gets my juices flowing!","sameAs":["http:\/\/annbaret.co.za\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ann.baretsolot","https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/ann_baret"],"url":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/author\/ann-baret\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50931"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12323"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}