TITLE: 20 simple tips to be happy now
AUTHOR: Dr. Timothy Sharp
FROM: www.thehappinessinstitute.com

Tip 1

Make happiness a priority. If happiness is not at the top of your list then other things will take precedence. If other things take precedence, they may well interfere with your efforts to feel good.

Tip 2

Make plans to be happy. Those who fail to plan, plan to fail. Just like in any other life domain, the successful pursuit of happiness requires planning.

Tip 3

Set happy goals. Following on from Tip 2, planning requires effective goal setting. And don’t forget to make sure your goals are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timed).

Tip 4

Do things that make you happy. Although this sounds obvious, many people simple forget to do things from which they gain pleasure. And do them as often as possible.

Tip 5

Set yourself tasks from which you’ll gain satisfaction. As well as pleasure and enjoyment,satisfaction is also an important part of happiness. So make sure that when you’re planning your tasks and activities you include things that might not be fun, but from which you’ll gain a sense of achievement.

Tip 6

Play and have fun. Don’t take life too seriously. Although we all have responsibilities there’s no reason why we can’t approach much of our lives in a playful manner. In fact, those who do so will undoubtedly be happier.

Tip 7

Identify where your strengths lie. Know where your faults and weaknesses are to avoid problems. Know where your strengths lie to be really happy and to succeed in life.

Tip 8

Utilise your strengths. Although we all can and should endeavour to improve in areas in which we’re weak there’s just as much, if not more, to be gained from focusing on the maximal utilisation of your strengths (including all your positive qualities and attributes).

Tip 9

Be curious. Constantly search for new ways to be happy. Keep a look out for new ways to approach life and to have fun.

Tip 10

Be grateful and appreciate what you have. We all have many choices in life one of which is whether to focus on all the things we don’t have (of which there might be many), or to focus on all the things we do have. There’s no doubt, that gratitude and appreciation will significantly increase your chances of experiencing happiness.

Tip 11

Learn to like and ideally to love yourself. We must love before we can be loved. To love others and to be loved by others is a key component of happiness.

Tip 12

Invest time and energy in to your key relationships.Happy people spend more timeworking on and in their relationships. Happy people tend to be more supportive of other people in their life. Happy people are more generous and altruistic.

Tip 13

Socialise and interact with others as much as possible. Happy people have both more and better quality relationships. So as well as working to improve the quality of your relationships (as noted in Tip 12) it’s also worthwhile working to improve the number of  your relationships.

Tip 14

Weed out unhelpful thoughts.

Tip 15

Plant happier, optimistic thoughts. As noted in Tip 14, there are two parts to developing helpful, optimistic thinking. The first is to weed out unhelpful negative thoughts and the second is to plant more positive, optimistic ones. This is essentially a skill, and like any other skill becomes easier and more effective with practice.

Tip 16

Live a healthy life. Eat well and keep active. Exercise regularly. Although not impossible, it’s difficult to be happy if you’re constantly sick and not very healthy.

Tip 17

Ensure you gain adequate sleep and rest. Consistent with Tip 16, it’s difficult to be happy if you’re constantly tired and struggling to find enough energy to get through the day. To  assist with this, regularly practice relaxation and/or meditation strategies.

Tip 18

Manage your time and priorities. Happy people tend to believe they’re more in control of their lives. In doing so, they’re more likely to take an active approach to solving problems. If something’s not quite right in your life, do something. And further, make sure that what you’re doing is important. Put first things first.

Tip 19

Control what you can control. Accept what you can’t control. And learn to be wise enough to know the difference.

Tip 20

Live in the present moment. The author, Henry Miller once said “Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognise it as such.” The only moment in which  we can truly be happy is the present moment. The only moment over which we have control is the present moment. So be happy now! Because if not now, then when?

Tip 21 – an EXTRA tip to make you happy!

Make happiness an integral part of your life. Develop happiness routines and make them a part of your every day living. Remind yourself however you can to do what you need to do and reward yourself as often as possible for doing what you’ve done.

翻译：By Jeffrey n Selina

小贴士1

要把快乐放在首位。如果你不把追求快乐放在你生活中的前列，其他一些事情将会取而代之，这样你为了追求快乐所做的努力也将付之东流。

小贴士2

有计划的使自己快乐起来。不会计划的人最后一定会失败。就像在生活中所触及到的任何一个领域一样，要想成功地实现追逐幸福的目标，一定需要合理的计划。

小贴士3

制定一个快乐的目标。接着小贴士2来说，计划时需要设定可行的目标。还有确保你的目标要足够“聪明”。（具体性，有效性，可行性，相关性和周期性）。

小贴士4

做一些能让自己快乐的事情。这一点听起来人人都明白，没有必要再单独提出来提醒大家，但很多人却往往容易忽视了去做那些可以使自己快乐起来的事情。还是尽可能得多去做这些事情吧。

小贴士5

给自己制定可以实现自我满足的任务。除了快乐和享受，满足也同样是快乐中很重要的组成。所以确保在计划你的任务的时候，也要考虑到那些可能不是很有意思，但你却可以从中获得成就感的事情。

小贴士6

尽情享受。不要太严肃的看待人生。尽管我们都肩负责任，但有何理由不能以一种快乐的方式生活。事实上，能够做到这些的人毫无疑问将获得快乐。

小贴士7

认识到自己的长处。了解自己的优点和缺点以扬长避短。了解自己的长处以获得真正的快乐和成功。

小贴士8

发挥你的长处。尽管我们能够也应该尽力的去提高自己在某些方面的弱势，如果做不到，就专注于最大限度的发挥自己的长处（包括你具备的所有优秀品质）。

小贴士9

不断探寻。坚持不懈地寻找能使自己快乐的办法。时刻注意探寻新方法来实现人生价值，并寻找快乐。

小贴士10

抱着一颗感恩的心来对待你所拥有的一切。人在一生中会面对很多的选择，其中之一就是要决定是否要全神贯注于得到我们所未拥有的一切（也许有很多你都未拥有）还是专注于我们所拥有的一切。无可置疑，感恩之心会带给你更多感受快乐的机会。

小贴士11

学会喜欢并且理想化的爱自己。我们首先要学会给予爱才能被爱。快乐的主要源泉来自于爱人与被爱。

小贴士12

多花费一些时间和精力陪陪那些对你来说很重要的人。快乐的人会花费很多的时间来陪伴他们身边人。快乐的人更乐意帮助他身边的人。快乐的人会更无私，更为别人着想。

小贴士13

尽可能的与他人保持沟通和互动。快乐的人总是拥有很多挚友。在增进与你的挚友间的沟通的同时（参见小贴士第12条），也很有必要扩大你的人际圈。

小贴士14

摒弃不好的想法。

小贴士15

培养更快乐和乐观的思想。就像小贴士14所说，通过两个步骤可以培养有益的和乐观向上的思想。首先要做到的是摒弃无用负面的思想，然后建立更加乐观向上的态度。这个技巧很重要，就像任何一种技巧，在实践中都可以变得更易于掌握更有效。

小贴士16

健康的生活。健康的饮食和保持积极向上的态度。有规律的进行锻炼。如果不能做到这些，你将因为病魔缠身而经常体弱多病，并很难找到快乐。

小贴士17

保证你有足够的睡眠和休息时间。和小贴士第16条一样，如果你经常感到疲劳并且强打精神勉强度日，那么你将很难快乐起来。有规律的休闲锻炼和/或冥想，才能帮你找回快乐。

小贴士18

合理的管理和安排时间。快乐的人总会认为他们更会控制自己的生活。正因为这样，他们总能采取更有效的方法来解决问题。如果在生活中发生了一些挫折，勇敢的面对吧。更进一步讲，确保你所作的事情是重要的。把重要的事情放在首位来做。

小贴士19

掌握你所能控制的。接受你所不能改变的。学习足够明智的去了解和接受“不同”。

小贴士20

享受当前的时光。作家亨利米勒曾经说过“能够真正认识到时间的珍贵的人，才会懂得珍惜每一个时刻”.我们能够真正享受的时光就是现在。我们能够掌控的时光就是现在。所以现在就让自己快乐起来吧！如果现在你不能做到的话，那什么时候才能呢?

小贴士21

让快乐成为你生命中重要的部分。把快乐当作一种习惯并把它融入到自己的生活中。无论怎样，要时刻提醒自己什么是自己所需要做的，要尽可能经常性的为自己所做过的事情而奖励自己。

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