How to be happy: practice gratitude, meditate, be mindful, move daily, interact & help others. Seems simple right? Not for everyone. For most, having guided resources to increase your happiness makes all the difference.
You know the types of things that make someone happier (if you don’t… Brooklyn just covered this in her latest post!). The hard part is figuring out how to incorporate these practices into your everyday life, which is why guided resources can be the game-changer to actually increasing your happiness!
To make it easy for you, I’ve put together a list of top my top three guided resources to increase your happiness & hold you accountable (…and teach you a thing or two about why some concepts actually make you happy):
Science of Well-Being: Class on Coursera
I cannot stop raving about this course. This online class is FREE, you can go at your own pace, and unlike typical classes, there is no “work”. All you do is watch & learn!
Led by Yale Professor Laurie Santos, Santos takes you through the psychology of happiness in a digestible way. This course is “10 weeks” and covers everything from biases to misconceptions about happiness, to strategies to increase your happiness. I use quotations around the length of the course because you can go at your own pace; if you want to binge the class and finish it in a day you can, or you can do for however long it takes you.
Each week, you are challenged with different Rewirements, meant to hold you accountable & take actionable steps towards increasing your happiness. These Rewirements cover anything from moving once a day, to writing a gratitude letter to someone. Santos even explains why these steps can increase happiness. At the end of the course, you get to focus on the Rewirement(s) that best suit you, with the goal to, incorporate them into your daily routine after the course is complete.
Headspace: Guided Meditation App
I’ve never been one to meditate, nor did I know how to. I never even thought to meditate until taking the Science of Well-Being course (meditating was one of the course Rewirements… spoiler alert!). Sitting alone silently (my initial attempt of meditating) didn’t do anything for me except make me my mind wander endlessly. So, I switched strategies & opted for a guided option.
I tried a bunch of different guided apps, but Headspace has been my favorite by a landslide. I began with Headspace’s Basics 1, 2, & 3 courses of meditation. These teach you the basics of meditation: what to do, how to sit, how you may feel, what to visualize, and more. This is a perfect way to start for anyone looking to give meditation a try. Once you advance, there are so many different options for how to meditate with the app. There is even a “happiness” section to help you focus on your happiness! …the best part, you can set it up so that Headspace reminds you daily to meditate to hold yourself accountable!
6 Minute Diary: Daily Journal
A lot of people recommend journaling to get out your thoughts, write down what you are grateful for, and more… all to increase happiness. For most, a blank journal page is intimidating. What to write? What to focus on? There are so many concepts that one can incorporate into journaling, but how do you remember them all?
A guided journal solves the questioning, mystery, and confusion of journaling. My favorite guided journal: The 6 Minute Journal. All it takes is 3 minutes in the morning & 3 minutes at night! It focuses on gratitude, things that you want to accomplish (and why), and a daily affirmation in the morning – followed by a quote (these are the quotes that I am always posting on my Instagram). At night, you focus on your social interactions with others, self-improvement, and what was great in your day.
These 6 minutes spent filling out this journal combine so many strategies to increase happiness. It makes it hard to pass up the opportunity to try the journal out. This journal sits next to my bed, as a reminder for each morning & each night to hold me accountable & guide me in the right direction. I don’t have to think about the things that I “should” be incorporating into my routine to increase my happiness, because they are already prompted in the journal for me! Easy!
Even better, why I decided on this journal over others, it has weekly questions (that really make you think) and includes a great explanation on the “why” behind their chosen prompts & how they work to increase happiness. …plus this journal is pretty & pink!
Whether you want to learn, develop new healthy habits, or have a guided & structured way to incorporate happy habits into your daily life, these three guided resources will hold you accountable & guide you through incorporating the pillars of happiness daily. Even better, simply focusing on your happiness can make you happier… #justbecause that is the end goal!
xoxo, rachel
