10 Ways To Increase Happiness, Without Opening Your Wallet!

You become lost in your thoughts when you allow them to uncontrollably guide you. You give your power and control of your mind over to your reactions. Take a look at the chart below which exemplifies the difference between feeling from your heart and thinking from your head.

Feeling from Your Heart.............Thinking from Your Head

Focus on the here and now..........Focus on the detail
Successful thought patterns........Unsuccessful thought patterns
Awareness................................Resistance to flow
Positive emotional state..............Ego-drive

Adaptation Potential...................Inflexible
Suppresses effects of stressors....Reliance on possessions
Perception of internal power.........Perception of power in possessions
You say what you feel.................You leave things unsaid

The practice of Taoism strives to foster inner serenity and equanimity, encouraging the individual to live and act according to the laws of the Tao. A person is required to suppress his own will, or what you might refer to as ego. It is preached that whoever devotes himself to the Tao achieves harmony with it not through intellect, willpower, or conscious action in the head, but intuitively in the heart by adapting to the way of all things. According to the fundamentals of Taoism, nothing in the cosmos is fixed; everything is subject to change, and the wise realize that by accommodating to this constant and consistent change they experience growth. Adaptation is the key to success. This is the growing and becoming that governs the visible world.

Taoist belief stresses letting go of what’s in your head and allowing yourself to become aware of what’s in your heart. This is a belief that can be easily put into practice, yet takes years to master. The following is an exercise to help you become more aware of what is in your heart.

Imagine you have a chest in front of you. For the next ten minutes allow yourself to think from your head. This includes all emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Let yourself relax and become aware of your thoughts. Notice how your body responds to each thought in your head. If you feel positive, do nothing. If you feel negative, place the thought into the imaginary chest along with the feelings which accompanied it. Set a timer for ten minutes and begin. At the end of the session lock the chest and cast it off into an imaginary ocean.

Repeat this exercise, but this time allow yourself to feel from your heart. Do this by controlling your thoughts and only choosing ones which make you feel good. Every thought is under the control of the mind. You have this capability even if you’ve never before been aware of it. Notice how your head is responding to each feeling from your heart. If you have a positive thought, place it into the imaginary chest along with the feeling which accompanied it. If you have a negative thought, do nothing. Set a timer for ten minutes and begin. At the end of the session lock the chest and place it inside your heart in remembrance of this activity. It will remain there for as long as you allow it. It can be accessed at any time you need a lift. This exercise will help you begin to realize the difference between feeling from your heart and thinking from your head and will help you to start increasing your happiness.

10 Simple Ways to Increase Your Happiness:

1. Always have something to look forward to- a vacation, date, party, celebration. If you don’t have one on the calendar, then create one.
2. Focus on what you do have, and not what you don’t have.
3. Surround yourself with things you love: people, places, or things. Have minimal exposure to things which seem irritating.
4. Focus on long-term satisfaction. Use the discipline in your mind to delay gratification.
5. Reward yourself a little bit each day by reveling in your daily accomplishments.
6. Be easy on yourself and others- we all come forth with good intentions.
7. Appreciate the experience of the physical form while you also keep in mind your spiritual side.
8. Don’t get caught up in the details of life.
9. Show your kindness and compassion everyday- share your gifts.
10. Love yourself as the wonderful creation that you aren