If you want to be happier in 2016, try following this advice:
1. Slow Down
An obvious one, but one which we are very bad at doing! As we approach the New Year, we look back at the past year and realise just how fast it has flown by! It feels quite scary that life is rushing past so fast, so what can we do? If we just take the time to stop, slow down and really enjoy the small things ……how good something tastes, the smell of the Christmas tree, the fabulous pink sunrise, the amazingly clear nights where the stars shine so brilliantly. When we take time to be present in the NOW, our life literally slows down and we get so much more pleasure and happiness than rushing from one thing to the next without even bothering to notice all that surrounds us.
If you are mentally somewhere else – you miss life!
2. Accept that the Past cannot be changed.
This reminds me of a saying that my school friend and I used to say all the time….”what’s said is said, what’s done is done!”. Yes, we were being somewhat flippant at the time, but there is so much truth in that statement – we cannot change anything, not one tiny little thing about the past. So, why obsess over it? All that you can do is learn from your mistakes and move forward. What ever happened to you in the past, even if it was dreadful, you simply cannot change it: if you are able to accept that, you will be in a much happier place.
3. Take more Risks
I know I’ve said it many times before, but don’t sit back and think you have all the time in the world, don’t walk the path of ‘normal’ if it doesn’t make you happy. Be prepared to take the risks, try something new, dare to be different, imagine how much happier you will be knowing that you’ve dared to take risks, even if you’ve failed?
4. Be more Honest with yourself
This really follows on from the one above, are you really living the life you want to lead? Are you doing a job that you are passionate about? Are you surrounding yourself with friends whose company you love? Are you living in an area you adore? Isn’t it time to be really honest with yourself? If you know what you really want then you can start to work towards a happier life!