10 Habits That Happy, Successful People Have In Common
Originally published at lmt-lss.com on April 6, 2016.
Habits that can help us be happy and successful.
If you seek happiness, there’s no better way to find it than by observing and learning from the world’s happiest people. The way they spend their days — essentially, their everyday habits — creates and sustains an environment for happiness in their lives. Anyone who wishes to be happy would do good to emulate these people’s habits to see their life change. Here are the 10 habits of the happy folk in the world.
1. They take responsibility for their situations.
Life is not within anyone’s control. It turns and twists in unpredictable ways and leaves us feeling helpless. But that’s when the happy people take responsibility for their situations and steer life to where they wish to take it, rather than sulk and complain. Once you take responsibility, you give yourself power to change things. Such a state is empowering.
2. They do things they love.
The happiest people don’t waste their time on activities that drain their energy and suck the happiness out of them. They instead do things they love, as that makes them feel happy and fulfilled. Even if they do certain things out of a need to do them and not because they love them, they acknowledge the importance of these tasks and learn to appreciate doing them.
3. They embrace change.
Among the very few truths in life is that change is the only constant in life. No matter what happens in life, one thing you can be assured of is change. And anyone who’s ready to accept and adapt with change is likely to be at peace, and subsequently, find more success and happiness overall.
4. They commit to making things happen.
Happy people don’t sit around and wait for things to happen. They go after what they want, without thinking about pointless things like, “Am I ready?” or “The time’s not right to pursue my goals right now.” Happy people are proactive with their hopes, dreams, and ambition, and don’t wait for conditions to be favorable to them.
5. They resolve conflicts peacefully.
Conflicts are a part of everyday life. They become a serious problem only when people refuse to acknowledge that it’s normal for conflicts to happen. Happy people not only accept conflicts as normal, they also look to proactively resolve them with the simple use of argument, empathy, and a strong intention to end the conflict.
6. They say no as much as they say yes.
Some people never say no. They accept almost everything, more often than not to please others and keep them happy. Some people never say yes. They reject most opportunities that come to them for the fear of finding themselves lying outside the comfort zone. The world’s happiest people balance the yes and no by following their instincts.
7. They are grateful to those who made them.
Happy people know that they’re a product of many people’s hard work, labor, time, and energy. They didn’t get to this point in life all by themselves. Naturally, they feel gratitude for all these people, right from their parents who raised them painstakingly to become a good person to the woman who made and served them tea at a store during the college years.
8. They are generous.
Generosity is a remarkable trait not often seen in people these days. The happiest people are, naturally, very generous, as they realize that life is created in the moments as much as it unfolds over a lifetime. If they find a conversation worth having, a cause worth supporting, or a stranger desirous of help, they don’t think twice before extending their generosity to them.
9. They are patient.
Patience is another quality (like generosity) that’s not often seen in people but is a remarkable trait to develop. The world’s happiest people are patient. For if they weren’t patient, they’d be finding themselves annoyed or stressed out by unfavorable situations, as we all often do. Patience gives us the strength to live through tough times and still wear a smile on our face.
10. They hold on to their values.
The happiest people have a value code that they abide by. They are spontaneous, make no mistake, but they have values that they hold on to dearly. It could be honesty, transparency, or courage; they don’t compromise on their values and feel a sense of pride because of it. This serves as the foundation on which they build their happiness and success over a period of time.
