Happy is our natural state and we can be happier than we are.

Should you care if you value success more?

Yes!

Because research suggests that happiness affects success. People who are happier or have a positive mindset at work are 31% more productive, 40% more likely to get a promotion in the next 12 months, and three times more creative. And to top it off, happier people live longer.

Then why are we as adults not as happy as we can be?

Maybe because we think that to be happy we need a zillion dollar in the bank or we need supermodel like body.

Truth is it does not take much to increase your happiness a little.

I am sharing how in the list below. I started writing this list four years back. Not sure what prompted it. Today I sat and completed it, in line with my intention to finish projects and ship my work.

How You Can Be A Little Happier Without Trying Too Hard

1. Stop whatever you are doing, close your eyes, take a deep breath and smile with your face
2. Thank God that you are born in times when you just need to press a button to switch on the light and you live inside a home and not a jungle
3. Eat your favorite sweet or snack
4. Stand in front of a mirror, take a good look at yourself and smile
5. Hug someone you love
6. Think about your fondest memory
7. Play your favorite music
8. Think of what you are grateful for in your life
9. Thank god that you are alive. [It helps to know that around 150,000 people die every year means they sleep to never wake up ever again]
10. Watch Kindness Boomerang video that my friend Orly made.
11. Write a love letter to yourself, think and write about all the reasons to love yourself
12. Get up, go and splash water on your face
13. Take a cold water bath. Cold water can increase production of beta-endorphins, or ‘feel good’ hormones that make us feel good so it works wonders.
14. Look at your happiness folder in your email inbox. I add all those messages that make me feel good in my happiness folder. If you have not created your happiness folder, go and create it now. (hat tip: Noah Kagan)
15. Drink a glass of water
16. Answer nature’s call
17. Pay for a stranger’s coffee or food without them knowing. Now stand there and see the expression on their face.
18. Go for a walk
19. Watch the sunrise
20. If you are at work – leave an hour or two early today
21. Go for a run
22. Buy a nice gift for someone you love
23. Talk to your mom and ask her about your childhood, then enjoy while she tells you about it
24. Spend time with kids
25. Take a look at your school yearbook
26. Forgive someone and smile
27. Help an old person cross the road
28. Hold the gate for a stranger
29. Smile at the stranger standing next to you then say hello
30. Look at your engagement ring
31. Think about the first time you had fallen in life
32. Think about your first paycheck and first earning from your business
33. Think about all the nice things in your life and be grateful
34. Think about the first day you took your child into your hands
35. Think about the day when you bought your first car
36. Write a love letter to your love
37. Spend time with or call your brother / sister / wife / parents / old friends
38. Send a thank you note who helped you at some point
39. Go to a spa and relax
40. Sit on a merry go round
41. Watch people playing in the park
42. Spread your arms – look at the sky and say “I am the master of the universe”
43. Lie down on the floor wherever you are. Let other people wonder what happened to you. One of my closest friends and I used to do it whenever we met.
44. Make a list of 10 people you’ll help this year. Then start today with helping one person in a small way
45. Ask a colleague to help you. It may be awkward but once they help and do all your work, you’ll feel amazing
46. Remove your shoes, wash your feet and then pat them dry with a soft clean towel
47. Take a warm water bath
48. Sit with your back straight
49. Look at all nice notes in your wallet
50. Watch your favorite comedy
51. Think about all your dreams that have come true

You can be happy by noticing what is good and exciting around you.

Neil Pasricha did it. He worked in HR at WalMart Canada. He started noticing small awesome things in his life at a time when a lot of things were not working for him personally. He started a count down of 1000 awesome things and wrote about it on his blog of the same name. It changed his life.

I may change yours. You just need to be more self aware and start noticing good things around you and in your life, as Neil Pasricha did.