Seeking a Successful Happy Life?

Is there a secret to a successful happy life? Are there steps one can take to achieve their highest level of happiness? Let's turn to the experts/articles written about this very subject....

In the article 8 Things Successful People Do Before 8a.m., success starts in the habits one has at the start of one's day. It suggests humans are the most productive in the early morning hours & one can accomplish more in a day by starting out early. The top 8 things you can do to motivate you in the morning towards a successful life are as follows:

• Move your body: "kickstart your productivity with a big hit of endorphins"
• Meditate: "reset the mind and create space for open thought and creativity later on"
• Eat something & hydrate: "A nourished, hydrated physical self will be less stressed, less tense and more focused throughout the day."
• Stay positive, set goals, & speak intentions: "leads to more gratitude, more openness, and more satisfaction with the little things"
• Strategize: "Using your morning hours to map out your day will help you stay on track and well prioritized."
• Tackle the tough task first: "Focusing instead on the largest task at hand, and committing to getting it done early, will free up mental bandwidth and improve your mood."
• Create a ritual: "Having something consistent and predictable to look forward to in the morning...is tremendously calming."
• Get up an hour earlier: "The biggest hindrance to a productive morning is the snooze button."

In the article A Harvard Psychiatrist Says 3 Things are the Secret to Real Happiness, researchers followed a selection of white men for 75 years, surveyed their life & monitored their physical health every 5 years to come up with what they concluded are the top 3 keys to happiness.

• Close relationships: "being closer to their family, friends, or community tended to be happier and healthier than their less social counterparts"
• Quality (not quantity) of relationships:  "the number of relationships people had was, in fact, more important for people in their 20s, but the quality of relationships had a bigger effect on social and psychological well being when people were in their 30s."
• Stable, supportive marriages(relationships): "people who fared the best were the people who leaned in to relationships, with family, with friends, with community"

In the blog 5 Ways to Have a Ridiculously Amazing Life by Richelle Morgan, the writer takes us on a quick journey on her own self-discovery. She steps away from the blame game & decides to figure out what she can do for herself to live a ridiculously amazing life. And since we're all seeking that enlightenment, here are her top 5:

• Move: "You have to get up and get your ass moving! Get the blood flowing, muscles fired up and the energy levels inspired. And the million excuses you have will come up, shelf them. If you can walk to the fridge, you can move."
• Check in and take notice: "Start by checking in and paying attention to the little things that happen on a daily basis....open your eyes, ears and mind. Rediscover your senses."
• Love: "Get the love juice flowing for your friends, family, partner and pets...Be kind and nourishing to yourself in deliciously healthy ways because when we start to treat ourselves as though we are worthy, we set amazing things in motion."
• Play: "Be silly, dance, sing and laugh a lot. Don’t let anyone dampen your silliness."
• Leap outside your comfort zone:  "...embraced every experience as an opportunity to spread my wings and grow....When you step outside your comfort zone and try new things, visit new places, create new adventures, you give back to yourself ten fold..."

In the article, 8 Things Happy People Do Every Morning, it suggests that happy people enjoy their mornings & create rituals that allow them to face their day with joy & purpose. Here they are:

• They wake up with a sense of gratitude: "This means that they're truly appreciative of their life and all of its little treasures."
• They begin anew each and every morning: "Individuals who aren't ruined by one bad day are resilient creatures. Resiliency is a telltale sign of having purpose and happiness." 
• They take part in prayer, affirmation, or meditation: "Prayer is a way of connecting and giving thanks for our creator. Meditation helps keep our mind focused, calms our nerves and supports inner peace. Happy people even use affirmations to declare how their day will go."
• They read: "...stretch and grow their insight and knowledge..." 
• They keep things simple and don't rush out the door:  "A simple routine limits any multitasking that most people do in the morning to ensure that they make it to work on time. Multitasking may create stress and anxiety and steal your peace during your first waking hours." 
• They exercise: "Exercise boosts levels of health-promoting brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which may help buffer some of the effects of stress and also relieve some symptoms of depression."
• They get some fresh air:  "...they breath in the crisp morning air, which promotes a sense of vitality." 
• They savor the beauty of their surroundings and practice being present in the moment:  "...taking the time to appreciate their environment can be invigorating and gets folks excited about their day. Being present connects and grounds them to what is really important in the moment."

Finally, 13 Pearls of Wisdom for a Successful Life, examines the best advice to hand out to people seeking a purpose for their life. Some have already been mentioned in the previous articles. Here is their list:

• Read: "You'll do many things you may regret, but you will never ever regret spending time reading."
• Accept uncertainty:  "There's uncertainty to everything; the sooner you can embrace that, the sooner you'll be able to leverage it."
• Agree: "Stop arguing, stop trying to control every scenario, stop trying to prove yourself right. You'll never change anyone's opinion through argument, and no one will remember if you're right."
• Be curious:  "Foster your curiosity, and it will lead you to amazing places."
• Be open minded:  "The opinions you hold with absolute conviction may be very different in a few years. Don't let those opinions get in the way of meeting people and experiencing things."
• Learn from adversity:  "...either see it as an obstacle or focus on what you can learn and how you can grow from the experience."
• Foster the growth mindset: Here's a video that better illustrates this concept. 

• Get out of your comfort zone: "If you stay within your limits, you'll never know what you're capable of."
• Don't hold onto the wrong things:  "Grudges, anger, opinions. Let them go, quickly."
• Travel:  "Get out and explore."
• Don't wait for the right time or the right thing to say:  "Most of the time if you wait for the right time, you'll be too late. Those who win in the world are the ones who speak up and take immediate action."  
• Don't look for the perfect scenarios, partner or job:  "Focus on the motivation behind that scenario rather than that goal."
•  Provide value in the world: "Money and success are important, but focus on creating value in the world first."

 And always remember, success & happiness are based on one's personal definition.  People automatically equate success to income level. Others consider success combining your passions with a steady income. And some consider success a combination of everything. And happiness often comes with success, but maybe not always?  Again, it all depends on the individual.  But life is about seeking that wholeness, that completeness. Best wishes on your journey!

Complicated & simple all at the same time! ☺