Five happiness habits for developing a healthy mind.

A happy mind leads to a more successful life.

The Happiness MBA has wrapped up. It took me a while to sit with the information and distill my thoughts. I read the book Search Inside Yourself referenced in the course and read some of my earlier posts to better grasp how all the pieces come together.

If it takes a while for you to wrap your brain around these concepts, that’s okay. I’ve been on this journey for a long time and noticed that some of the lessons were covered in other books and courses. The repetition is part of the practice that helps integrate the learnings into real life.

Five key happiness habits for a healthy mind

1/ Start a gratitude practice 

One of the requirements of the Happiness MBA is to keep a gratitude journal for the duration of the course. Starting your day noting three things that you’re grateful for will you make you appreciate the things and people in your life even more.

The practice will help you start your day with feelings of abundance rather than scarcity. Abundance is associated with feelings of calm and peace, whereas scarcity is associated with fear and anxiety.

2/ Develop a healthy level of control

A healthy level of control means that you have enough control over your life. Control is largely derived from caring for the health of your body and mind. When you feel good, you’ll feel more in control and capable of rising to whatever challenge. 

3/ Strive for flow

Flow is almost a magical state of being that can be achieved while engaging in work, activities and relationships that challenge you but don’t tax you. The process of working towards a goal will give you the most joy and happiness.

If you’re not sure when you experience flow, note how different tasks make you feel as you complete them. The tasks that get crossed off your list versus carried forward may also give you insights into your flow experiences.

4/ Be more trusting of others and life

Studies show people are more trustworthy than we think. When you trust others you help to develop trust within your community. If you can afford to extend more trust, you should take the risk and do so. 

5/ Practice meditation 

Meditation is a practice of observing your thoughts so that you gain more impulse control. Impulse control gets you out of your head so that you can observe your thoughts and respond to events more thoughtfully. 

Training your mind to focus on the current moment will give you more clarity, focus and peace of mind. The practive will help you to develop trust in life.