how to be a happy person

No one can be happy all the time. But there are people who manage to be happy most of the time. 

How do they do this?

Ask them, and they probably won't be able to tell you. It's just something inside them that makes their lives glow.

It is a lot easier to be miserable, than it is to be happy. It takes work to be happy - not a lot - but some.   

We all want to be happy - that's why we greet each other at certain times of the year with -

Happy Christmas - Happy Hanuka - Happy Diwali - Happy Eid - Happy Halloween - for a short space of time people pretend to be happy - because it's what's expected of them. 

Why should happiness last only for a festive season? Why can't we find a way to be happy the rest of the year?

The truth is - we can. And it's not as difficult as we think.

Alcohol is not the answer - it's a mood enhancer - so if you are unhappy - trying to drown your sorrows in drink - will only make you even more miserable. 

gif by giphy

Shame - but it's unfortunately true. 






Getting rich overnight won't necessarily make you happy either. Approximately 70% of people who win the UK lottery spend the lot within 18 months of winning it. They then say their lives have been ruined as a result of their win.

If you are feeling crappy as you read this, I wouldn't blame you if you thought, "Well that's easy for you to say. You are not me."

But, I've been where you are. I know what it is like to feel deeply deeply unhappy, with no idea how to stop feeling that way. Then, I came to the realisation that my unhappiness was hurting only me. With this epiphany firmly in place, I decided to change my attitude to life.

Okay, so some days are so fucking awful, you just can't drag yourself up from the gloom. And anyone who says you can, is an arsehole. This article isn't about those days. It's about trying to mitigate the misery when those days inflict themselves on you.

When I qualified as a Clinical Hypnotherapist - my studies had radically changed how I viewed the world around me.

The more I studied, the more I realised, people who are happy, have habits that unhappy people don't have. 


Whoever said, "It's all in the mind." Was dead right. Everything you do. Everything you are. Starts with how to see yourself with others.

If you have never read about the Law of Attraction, it's worth reading up about - in a nutshell, if you are negative, you attract negativity to you. If you are positive - you attract positivity.

Think about when someone frowns at you - how do you feel? You don't feel all warm and fuzzy about them - but if you get a  cheerful smile, then your whole attitude to that person changes to feeling likewise.

Start your journey to happiness by smiling more. Smiling sends the message to your brain that you are happy. The more you smile - the happier you will become. Your smile will make the person you are smiling at also feel happy - chances are, they will smile back at you. All of a sudden there's good feeling around you.

Smiling reduces feelings of anxiety, and relieves stress. It is one of the most positive things you can do to lift your sad mood. Smiling makes you more attractive to other people.

You are more likely to find - that someone special - if you smile more.

Remember - Smile and the whole world smiles with you. 

The joy of giving is something that can make you really happy. I enjoy Halloween for one reason - seeing the excitement on the children's faces. Their expressions make me feel happy as I dole out the candy. It's the same with Christmas. Giving a gift, no matter how big or small, creates positivity to both the giver and the receiver.

Donate to charity. A donation, say to a food bank or a local charity, makes you feel you've done something worthwhile. Which you have.  

Friends are important. Having a social circle - real people not virtual Facebook friends - to talk to about your problems is incredibly valuable in terms of your mental well being. Happy people, generally speaking attract more friends to them, than unhappy people. 

Happy people get off their butts and do stuff. They don't just live their lives by going from A (work) to B (home), they incorporate C (new experiences) into their life's routine.

They get out there. 

Whether it's helping individuals or volunteering to give their free time in helping a charitable organisation. The less you sit around feeling sorry for yourself - the easier it gets to feel good about yourself. Being active, going to places you haven't been to before. Take that exotic holiday. Go sightseeing to interesting places. Museums etc. Do something you've never done before - go to a rock concert. Happy people are always looking for a new experience to give them a boost. Having new experiences makes life worthwhile.  


Happy people don't sit and watches endless news bulletins. Disaster headlines sell news. Not everything's hunky-dory. Filling your brain with images of war and destruction, of dangerous situations that you have no control over, sends the brain a constant negative message that there is nothing but unhappiness in the world. You can't change the world's ills. Let go of the things you can't change, and concentrate on the things you can change. People who understand their limitations are far happier. They get on with enjoying their lives because they are not hung up worrying about situations they are not able to control.

Same goes for dumping unnecessary past negative emotions. Clinging onto a grudge when no one but you still remembers the reason for the grudge, hurts only you.

If it is the relationship you are in that is making you unhappy, consider ending it. Give yourself the freedom to find someone who will make you happy.


The healthier you are. The happier you are. Stands to reason. People who eat healthily and take regular exercise are happier than those who don't for these simple reasons. 

Exercise releases dopamine into the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that releases into the brain feelings of pleasure and happiness. Working out can help you become less stressed. If you have a strenuous workout on a regular basis, then you will know how good you feel afterwards. You feel alive. Buzzing, even though you have just expended bucket loads of energy.

Eating fruit/vegetables. Cutting down on over processed sugar laden foods - not only helps boost your immune system, it helps to boost your positive moods. Basically if you eat crap, you are gonna feel like crap. 

RECIPE - by VEGAN SPARKLES

Add colour to your food. Make your food fun. Brown is boring. Red is exciting. Upgrade your salad to a multi toned feast of red, yellow, orange and green.  

This scrummy looking picture is a roast vegetable & pepita salad with balsamic dressing - from Vegan Sparkles.

The more turned on by life you are, the less likely you are to be unhappy. 

Try doing as many of the following as possible - 

Smile at people.

Go see a friend.

Donate to the food bank/charity. 

Try something new.

Exercise.

Eat healthily. 

Let go of what you can't control. 

Dump the negatives from your past. 

It may not be possible for you to change everything in your life that makes you unhappy. Don't worry - concentrate on the things that will help you have a positive attitude. 

Whatever is causing your unhappiness - ask yourself, will you still have the problem this time next year? Chances are. You won't. 

Implementing some of the above may not solve all your problems - however, a positive attitude can give you the mental strength and stamina, to make you a happier person, and in turn overcome most things.

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