Last Updated on August 15, 2023 by Angela Vaz
Happiness is a feeling that most people assume is very hard to achieve.
There is a point in everyone’s life where we feel that we need a lot actually to be happy.
Sometimes we say to ourselves, “If only I had a nice house, I’d be happy.” or “If I found my true love, I’d be happy.”
For most of my life, this is what I believed – that I needed to achieve something to be happy, that happiness was a destination.
But I was wrong.
Happiness comes from taking the time to enjoy the simple things in life.
Happiness comes from a nice hot cup of chai in the morning, and it can also be achieved by hugging your dogs and watching their tails wag.
Happiness is a feeling that most people assume is very hard to achieve.
There is a point in everyone’s life where we feel that we need a lot actually to be happy.
Sometimes we say to ourselves, “If only I had a nice house, I’d be happy.” or “If I found my true love, I’d be happy.”
For most of my life, this is what I believed – that I needed to achieve something to be happy, that happiness was a destination.
But I was wrong.
Happiness comes from taking the time to enjoy the simple things in life.
Happiness comes from a nice hot cup of chai in the morning, and it can also be achieved by hugging your dogs and watching their tails wag.
Happiness is a state of mind.
It’s not something that you need to wait for or something conditional on anything else.
And when you start adopting minimalism and start focusing on experiences rather than things or status, you’ll begin to feel more light and happy.
In this post, I’m going to talk about how you can focus on the present moment and enjoy the simple things in life to be happy always or for the most of the day.
But before that really quick, get my free guide on how to really reset your life.
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How to enjoy the simple things in life
The best way to live in the moment and enjoy life’s simple pleasures is to slow down and be more mindful.
It is not achieved easily and is more like a habit that you have to build slowly.
We, humans, are so used to thinking three steps ahead or overthinking everything we do that we forget where we really are and what we’re doing.
This is where meditation and deep breathing come in.
Once you learn to take each moment as it comes, you won’t be in a hurry to get to the future, and you won’t be overthinking the past.
This will allow you to focus on the present and savor each moment as it comes.
Anyone and everyone can be mindful.
We all have problems, and we all have only twenty-four hours a day.
And yes, it is possible not to rush and not be thinking all the time.
Let’s see how we can go about this.
Simplify your life to make more time for things you love
Focus on making your life simple so you have fewer decisions to make and don’t waste your time with unwanted stress.
A few ways you can do this are:
- Decluttering your home so that you make space for what you need
- Learning to say no to people and understanding that your time and energy are precious resources
- Cutting out toxic habits so that you are more happy and free
- Automating your bill payments and being more organized with your finances so that you aren’t wasting time worrying about it
You can read more about simplifying your life here, but the idea behind doing this is to minimize unnecessary tasks to make time for the people and things in life that matter.
Saying no to time sucks, and energy vampires will only help you make time for what you love.
Learn what makes you happy
It’s easy to say “enjoy the simple things in life,” but if you don’t know what they are, then how we possibly aim to do that?
So, take some time to yourself and ask yourself what makes you happy.
Here are a few simple pleasures that I’m talking about:
- Enjoying a cup of your favorite hot beverage in the wee hours of the morning.
- Writing a few lines about what how you feel and how life is treating you in your journal.
- Cooking a meal for your family or your closest friends.
- Taking an uninterrupted, peaceful walk in your locality and paying attention to all the sounds and sights around you.
- Reading a book that helps you learn something new.
- Practicing a hobby that makes you genuinely smile because you’re pursuing your passions.
- Writing a letter to a close friend, or sending a voice note to your parent.
- Playing and cuddling with your pets.
- Enjoying take-out from your favorite restaurant.
- Listening to Queen while you vacuum the house.
Make a list of the things that make your heart sing and do more of them throughout the day.
Even if you are working, take frequent breaks from your work to don’t burn yourself out.
You don’t need to wait till you’re worn out to take a break. That’s just going to put so much pressure and stress on you.
Love yourself
At the end of the day, to enjoy the simple things in life, you need to love your life.
And the best way to do that is to love yourself.
It’s funny how all of these things are correlated, and in fixing one aspect of your life, the others slowly fall into place.
Loving yourself means putting your needs at a high priority and treating yourself with kindness and love.
The moment you learn that you are important too and that your life is precious, every moment you live becomes special.
Here are a few posts you might enjoy if you want to explore this space further:
- 7 self love books every woman needs to read right now
- 29 self love quotes to help you heal and love yourself
- 43 self-love journal prompts to help you fall in love with yourself
- The ultimate guide to loving yourself as a single woman
Build a morning routine
Wake up early.
You have no idea how wonderful it is to wake up early until you’ve tried it.
It does take some time to get used to, especially if you’re not a morning person.
But having those uninterrupted precious minutes to yourself and being able to do whatever you want while the whole world is in deep slumber is a joy unlike any other.
Start this practice by setting back your alarm a few minutes every week till you find a time that suits you best.
And once you wake up early, take it one minute at a time.
Take a few moments to wake up and boot up.
After that, build a morning routine that suits you.
Doing this one particular thing will help you feel so happy and energized.
There is a good chance that your entire day will go well and be productive because you will be starting every day with a fantastic morning routine.
Be more mindful
Being mindful simply means that you are always present at any given moment.
If you’re doing something, give it your undivided attention and sole focus.
This really helps you focus on the task at hand and enables you to be present.
When you’re working, work.
When you’re taking a break from work and are with family, do just that. Give them your undivided attention and time.
If you’re taking a walk in the park, focus on being present.
Even if you are cleaning, give it your sole focus.
Don’t try to multitask or think about different things when you’re doing something else.
Being mindful doesn’t come to us quickly because our brains are wired to think. It can become really easy to get distracted and go off into a spiral of thoughts. But this is unhelpful and will not help you be at peace.
So, take your time to be more present, no matter what you do.
And you will notice your mood lifting and your life becoming more peaceful.
Here are a few posts that will help you become more mindful
- How to be present at every moment
- How to make every single day count
- 35 ways to getting your life under control
- 19 benefits of being yourself
Make time for the things you love
In an earlier section, we already discussed how to identify what truly makes us happy.
Now that you know what makes you happy, it’s time to do them.
Spend more time doing these things.
And don’t jump from one task to another without taking a little break.
For instance, if you’re working on a presentation for a few hours, take a break before the actual meeting.
Get a glass of water, stretch, collect your thoughts and then get ready for the meeting or call.
This will help you stay calm and present during the meeting.
The moment you start to become stressed, anxious or angry, take a step back and do something relaxing to help you come back to your calm state of being.
Keep set hours for work, and don’t let those hours cross over into your personal time.
Make time to do the things you genuinely love.
If you find it challenging to do this, make lists.
Set personal goals for yourself and make a list of all the things you need to do each day to consider that day a good and productive day.
Identify your priorities and make time for those tasks.
At the moment, learning the piano is one of my priorities, so I block 30-45 minutes every day to play the piano.
Making time for the things you really love will ensure that you’re actually doing them and prioritizing them.
Practice loving kindness
When I went through a bad phase in early 2021, I started reading multiple books on how to find happiness and live in the moment.
I was keen on becoming more mindful and reducing my emotional pain.
Apart from living in the moment and learning to let go of the past, a secret to being truly happy is to give more than you receive.
It sounds contradictory.
Shouldn’t happiness mean getting and not receiving?
But believe me, this actually works.
Practice small acts of kindness daily like:
- Smile at a neighbor and wish them good morning
- Start a conversation with your barrista or server at a cafe or restaurant
- Compliment someone out of the blue on their hair or clothes
- Offer an older person to carry their bags for them
- Thank people that do a service for you
- Feed some stray animals on the way
- Donate money to charities monthly
It isn’t hard to be kind. It just requires a little self-awareness and is something that will make your life so much happier and lighter.
Implementing this one habit in my life, brought about a change for the better. I’ve become close to so many people and I realized how that dark time in my life was absolutely necessary for me to see the sunshine again.
Conclusion
I hope this post helped you learn how you can enjoy the simple things in life.
The bottom line is, you need to take it one day at a time.
Learn to let go of the past and stop worrying about the future.
Today is all you have. So focus on the present moment and try to live each day as it comes.
This is the true key to happiness.
Happiness is indeed a state of mind and I can assure you, that it gets easier with practice.
What are the little things you love doing that genuinely make you happy? Let me know in the comments below!
Here are a few more posts you might enjoy!
