WHAT YOU CAN DO TO BOOST YOUR HAPPINESS

People often ask me: "What can I do to boost my happiness?"

I tell them that there are tons of things you can do, but then I can only recall a handful of practices in the moment. So I decided to create this complete guide for how to be happy, according to science. If you use these practices consistently, you are very likely to increase your personal happiness:

1. Find out what to do first.

How are you supposed to build the right happiness skills if you don't know which ones you are struggling with in the first place? This is why it's helpful to take a quiz to explore your happiness strengths and weaknesses. Get a better understanding of what these skills are all about, and learn how to overcome your weaknesses and increase your "happiness strengths."

2. Give yourself a confidence boost.

To prove to yourself that you can increase your happiness. The best way to do this is by starting with easier skills. Do your best to increase your confidence; you can do it. Get a quick win, and you'll be more confident that you really can change your life.

3. Build a growth mindset for happiness.

A growth mindset refers to the belief that we can change ourselves. When we build a  growth mindset for happiness, we believe we can change our happiness. This is super important, because if we don't believe we can increase our happiness, we won't even bother to try.

4. Make positive memories.

Every region in our brains can be strengthened through practice. If our brains are really good at remembering negative things that happen, it can be useful to strengthen the regions of the brain responsible for remembering positive things.

5. Take breaks from social media.

Facebook tends to have a negative effect on our happiness. By choosing to take breaks from Facebook — or changing the way we use social media — we can boost our happiness.

6. Spend smarter for more happiness.

How we choose to spend our money impacts what we can do and how we live in ways that impact how happy we are. When we choose a less fancy house or car — things that don't bring us much happiness — we have more money to spend on adventures or on gifts for friends: things that actually do make us happier.

7. Act of kindness.

When we are kind to others, we feel better about ourselves. We can do nice things for others, be empathetic, or we can just treat each other with respect, communicating kindly rather than assuming the worst.

8. Stop negative patterns of thinking.

Let's face it: Sometimes we are what's making us miserable. We just can't stop thinking about how so-and-so wronged us, or how our life didn't turn out as we hoped. Negative thought processes — like worrying, ruminating, self-judgment, and fearing rejection — just keep us miserable and unable to move forward. When you find yourself thinking negatively, pause and refocus your thoughts. In time, your brain will be able to do this more easily on its own.

9. Pay attention to the good.

Sure, sometimes life is hard. But by paying attention to the good, you can rise above it and be more resilient. When you find the good, savor the moment, and bring it with you to maintain happiness even during hard times. Or try thinking about a time in the future when you'll feel better.

10. Stay mindful.

Sometimes we want to escape. The world seems dark and scary, but by practicing mindfulness we experience more fully both the positive and the negative — we are more fully engaged in our lives.

11. Explore what happiness means to you.

We all define happiness in different ways. When you know what happiness means to you, you'll have an easier time finding it. So explore happiness — what it means, what it looks like, and what it feels like — to more easily create it.

12. Speak up and be yourself.

When we let people walk all over us, we're unhappy. But when we advocate for our own needs assertively and express ourselves, we feel more in control of our lives. Learning how to express yourself can help you overcome interpersonal challenges, which can make you unhappy.

13. You are accountable.

We are more likely to do the things we say we're going to do if we schedule time in our calendars to do them. We can also more easily stay on track if we get accountability from others. So if you really want to be happier, don't let yourself get away with being unhappy.