5 secrets to finding happiness

I am no guru on happiness but I do believe I am a happy person. I do think it takes work to be happy and a constant conscious effort. People are naturally negative, it comes easy to humankind. Look around, most people are complaining or grumbling about something. The news, co-works, terrible bosses, rude children, lazy teenagers, boring marriages, money, politics, weather and the list goes on. We as humans are naturally negative. The happy ones are the ones who are making conscious efforts to be happy. It is easy for me to complain as well, for sure, I am human but everyday I am aware of when I complain and get negative and quickly reset my thoughts to something positive, something great, something happy. It takes practice, like anything in life, when you practice you get better and better. Here are 5 tips that I have learned to do to keep me in a happy frame of mind:

1. Be aware of your negative thoughts. Start to look at how you speak and what you complain about and catch yourself in those moments, it's the first step to shifting your mindset.

2. Start each morning with uplifting knowledge. Feed your brain with talks and words that are uplifting. Listen to a podcast that teaches or inspires you, read something that raises your spirits, watch a video of something that has a positive message. Start your day with your brain being fed first with uplifting things and the braid will feed the body and soul the rest of the day.

3. Do one thing that gets you closer to your goal or life vision. Taking action and doing even one thing that keeps you on your path for your life vision or goal will always make you smile.

4. Live with kindness and give. The mere act of giving and seeing others positive reactions creates the good chemical in our bodies that make us happy. Giving does give back, it gives you the feelings of happiness. People who give and are kind always have a smile on your face, watch yourself or someone else the next time you give or are kind, you will have a smile on your face, it goes with the territory.

5. Live with gratitude always. Find things in your day everyday that you are grateful for. Be grateful throughout the day especially when you find yourself going to that negative place again and trust me you will, we all do, it's human nature. Be grateful for something in that moment, grateful for my comfortable shoes, grateful for having a job when so many people don't, grateful that I get time to think while in transit, grateful for my husband or wife who loves me unconditionally, grateful that I have children to hold, grateful my new sweater that I love and so on. Find something to be grateful for. There are so many things, the more you find the happier you will be.

Being happy is work but in all things, the harder we work at something the better we do and the greater our reward. So work at your happiness, you deserve it and the world deserves to see your smile.