Apparently, one of the easiest ways to find happiness in your life is to practice daily “gratitude”.
There have been several studies on the association between gratitude and happiness, and research has demonstrated a strong correlation between them. People who deliberately spend time on thinking or writing about what they’re grateful for every day, display higher levels of well being and are happier.
Just a few weeks of keeping a “gratitude diary” can make you significantly happier, and even spending time merely thinking about what you are thankful for – people, nature, beauty and other things around you on a daily basis, has the same effect!
We’ve accepted the fact that daily physical exercise is essential for our health and well being, maybe we should be adding some “mental exercises” to the list as well 🙂
If you want to read up more on gratitude, here are some good references:
Emmons, R.A. (2008) Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. Mariner Books; Reprint edition.
Emmons, R. A. & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377–389.