Are you just starting your happiness journey?
Even if you’ve been on the happiness path for a while, building a foundation that helps you accelerate your growth means that you can be happier sooner than you think!
When I graduated with my doctorate, I had no idea what to do next. My mentor and I had planned to do some work together, but she passed away unexpectedly just a few weeks after graduation. I had my own cancer treatment coming up at the end of that month. The plan was to give myself a month to recover. I couldn’t be around my kids while I was radioactive, so a bit of time was needed. The reality was that I needed to go back to work. At the same time it was difficult to be positive – quasi requirements for a coach – when so much of my own life was mired in grief and disappointment.
My experience probably doesn’t surprise you. To grow something sustainable, you have to start with the basics—and this is also true for learning happiness. We can make it easier for ourselves to build happiness when we choose supportive habits as the foundation. Here’s how to get started.
Get a Quick Win with Something Easy and Fun
Researchers believe that some happiness habits are easier to build than others. So rather than starting with whatever happiness habit is currently the most popular—meditation or self-care —you’re better off starting with habits that are easier or more fun.
The broaden-and-build theory suggests that experiencing positive emotions broadens your mindset and builds your psychological, intellectual, and social resources, allowing you to benefit more from your experiences.
By starting with easy or fun practices, you may be able to get a jumpstart in happiness and boost your sense of self-efficacy that propels you forward in the happiness-building process. And luckily, now there are lots of these easier-starter activities online.
One study showed that people who felt more positive emotion in the beginning of a happiness program reported greater improvements at the end. By going after the simpler and easier parts of happiness, you can build up reserves of confidence and good feelings that may help you tackle the trickier skills later.
Which Habits Are Easy to Start With?
1. Savoring
One habit that researchers believe is relatively easy to build is savoring good things in your life (like a special trip or awe-inspiring concert) by continuing to reflect on them and share them with others. On the flip side, surveys suggest that learning mindfulness can be relatively difficult, as beginners may struggle and become cognitively depleted.
2. Fun
Another good way to start is with something fun. The Greater Good Science Center’s Science of Happiness course invited students to try out 10 different happiness practices, and (at the end of the course) reflect on their experience. The surveys showed that among those 10, students most enjoyed mindful breathing, awe exercises, gratitude journaling, and listing three good things. They found these practices to be a better fit—aligned more with their internal values and natural inclinations—than practices like forgiveness or self-compassion.
3. Be Present
In a 2012 study, people picked which activities to practice. They selected exercises related to setting goals, savoring the present moment, and recording gratitude more frequently than thinking optimistically, savoring the past, expressing gratitude to others, and recording acts of kindness. This evidence gives us some idea about which habits are the most enjoyable (or, at least, which ones we think will be most enjoyable).
So, when getting started with happiness habits, try to begin with easy, fun ones—but don’t stop there. More difficult habits are valuable, too.
Get more bang for your buck with high-impact habits
Some habits have a bigger impact on happiness than others.
I recently asked a group of clients about which well-being habits contribute most to their happiness. They said feeling positive feelings about themselves, improving their self-relationship, seems to generate more happiness than the rest.
4. Optimism
Other research supports this idea. For example, researchers found that one group of habits that highly impact happiness in the long run are those that shape what you pay attention to. This includes practices like anticipating good things in the future, paying attention to the positives rather than the negatives of a situation, and reflecting on good things that happened in the past.
5. Movement
One of the most important habits is movement. The focus isn’t necessarily to just to “get in shape,” but to move your body instead of being inactive. The research suggests that healthy behaviors—like exercise—improve well-being, even among people who have a difficult time building other types of happiness habits. In fact, one study showed that a health enhancement program alleviated depression and increased life satisfaction faster than a mindfulness program among people diagnosed with depression. Although both programs were effective in the long term, the authors argue that positive health habits may more quickly increase well-being, while mindfulness may lead to more gradual but sustained improvements.
6. Variety
Using a greater variety of practices, regardless of what the practices are, may also be beneficial. For example, one study found that compared to a program including fewer types of happiness practices, a happiness program including more practices led to greater increases in well-being. Other research suggests that the people in happiness programs who choose to engage in more different practices show greater increases in happiness than those who choose to engage in fewer practices. And people who engage in a diverse range of practices and engage in them in more situations seem to show the most benefit of all.
In sum, trying to create any new habit can be tough, so it’s worth thinking about which happiness habits to cultivate first. Once you’ve built a few of these habits, you’ll get the hang of it, and building other habits will feel easier. Use these tips to start off on the right foot and you’ll have the resilience you need to weather any storm.