35 Simple Daily Habits for Happiness in Life

We all know that happiness is a choice.  As a quad amputee woman, I made the decision that I needed happiness in my life.  Not only that, but we live in a world where negativity is prevalent. It’s time that we turned that around.  So here is my list of 35 Simple Daily Habits For Happiness In Life.  My prayer is that I can bless you with some great reminders that happiness is a necessary emotion for Godly living.

“Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like  and celebrating it for everything that it is.” – Mandy Hale

Daily Habits for Happiness

What are some really great daily habits for happiness?   Check out this list to see if you can implement them into your own life.  It’s important to know how to make happiness a habit!

Take Care of Your Soul 

Have a daily walk with God.  Do you have a personal relationship with God? If not, head on over to How to grow your faith in God for some guidance.

Pray

Once you have that relationship,  talk to God, daily, often, and always. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 KJV tells us to “Pray without ceasing.”

Think Positive and be Optimistic

Be so positive that negative people don’t want to be around you.  Optimism and positivity breeds optimism and positivity. On the other hand, negativity breeds negativity.  Be a positive influence in every crowd.

Approach Life From a Place of Gratitude

We all have so much to be thankful for. Don’t take your blessings for granted.  I love this best life habit! Even when we go through challenges, remember to be thankful.   Each challenge is a lesson that we can learn from.

More Daily Habits for Happy People

Play

Have fun and don’t take life so seriously.  Sure, we all have to work, but finding joy in your work is half the battle.  Playing is a great daily habit for happy people. Plus, 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us to “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.“

Find a Balance Between Work and Play

We don’t have to work all day and night. Spend time with your family and trust God that it will all work out. If money is an issue, you’ve got to talk to God about that. Follow His will for your life and I know family time will increase.

Get Enough Sleep

Everybody has their own sleep needs. Find out what you need and get to bed.  I sometimes lose sleep because I’ve got my nose in a book. That’s not a bad thing, as long as you’re not exhausted the next day.  This is a really important best-life habit, too!

Laugh

Find joy in life, love, family, nature, and God, just to name a few.  Laugh with your kids. Tell nice clean jokes, and watch funny movies together. Enjoy the time you spend together.  Embrace joy in that laughter. Heather Chapman from Lessons from Home wrote a great blog post referencing 11 Bible verses to help you embrace that joy.  Check it out!

More Tips to Lead a Happy Life

Be Kind to Others

By all means, reach out and make somebody smile.  Give help where it’s needed. Pay kindness forward.  Here are 105 of the Best Random Acts of Kindness. I challenge you to try a few of these ideas.

Forgive

Matthew 6:14-15 tells us “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” I don’t know about you, but I certainly want that forgiveness from my Heavenly Father, don’t you?  If forgiveness is hard for you, seek God’s help. But friend, you’ve got to let it go. It’s bad for your health.

Smile a LOT! 

We have so much to be thankful for.  Let it show! If you haven’t seen it yet, visit my article on finding joy in the journey. 

Nurture Relationships

You don’t have to have a ton of friends, but it’s so important to nurture and love on those relationships that you do have.  This is a great habit for happy couples too!  Be a good listener, and engage in conversations with family and friends. Be present.  It matters!

How to Make Happiness a Habit

Join our 30-Day Happiness Challenge

It’s easy to make happiness a daily habit when you participate in our 30-Day Happiness Challenge.  Complete with a free printable, I’ve given you a fun activity to lift your mood for 30 days straight.  From there, either create your own list or wash and repeat with mine.  Simply go to What is True Happiness?

Be Around Happy People

What a big difference it makes!  Personally, negative people make me crabby.  What kind of example does that set for others?  Play with happy people and you’ll be happy too. Can you think of a better kind of best life habit?

Live in the Moment

Again, be present. Get on the floor and play legos, trucks or Barbies with your kids. Put that phone away. Enjoy this time, because I promise you, time flies fast. Yesterday, my kids were little but today they’re grown and living their own lives.  Figure out how to make happiness a habit while you’re kids are young.

Let Go of the Past

The past will weigh you down.  There’s nothing you can do about regrets. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

Set Goals

“If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” – Source unknown.  Find things in your life that set you on fire and then go and make them happen. Even if you take baby steps, you’re getting closer to the goal.

Own Up to Your Actions

Take responsibility for your mistakes. Learn from them and work to do better next time.

Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to Find Joy in the Journey

Embrace Change

I know, I know, nobody likes change.  But guess what, friends, change is inevitable. So instead of fighting it, embrace it. I’m a fan of finding the good in every situation. So, where’s the silver lining?  Change can be good, you just need to find that wonderful goodness.

Seek Adventure! 

Yes, indeed! What can you do today to add a bit of adventure to your life?  I’ve got my own bucket list of ideas to bring some adventure into our lives. In fact, it’s a great goal list. It’s called 101 Things to do in 1001 days. I challenge you to make a bucket list like that of your very own.

Dream Big

“Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”—Harriet Tubman. Also, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”—Eleanor Roosevelt. Dreams fuel your fire!  You have all you need within you to make your dreams happen. It just takes courage to pursue those dreams, and probably a little money. But again, you have the ability, if it’s in God’s will.

Lead a Happy Life

Develop an Abundance Mindset

Don’t be an Eeyore! Be thankful for everything you have.  You may only have two nickels to rub together, but it’s more than somebody else may have. But also, if you have it and someone else needs it, well then you should give it to them.

Work Hard!  

How good do you feel after a hard day’s work and a finished job?  I love it when I’ve finished a task on my never-ending to-do list.   I mentioned this before, but it bears saying again. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us to “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”  If you are going to do something, do your very best.

Accept Your Limitations

We all have challenges in our lives.  Once you accept those limitations, you can work over them, under them, or through them.  I wrote a great ebook to help people with exactly this problem. It’s called Victory Over Affliction:  30 Mindset Challenges to Motivate You. Get yours today!

Exercise

It’s great for your endorphins, which is the feel-good hormone.  Personally, I’m not a huge fan of exercise, but I always feel good after I do it.  Isn’t this list about daily habits for happiness? If it makes you happy and you feel good afterward, “just do it!”

Be Careful with Your Money

Money problems are the worst. But let me tell you, once you’ve got your budget all figured out, your mindset is relieved.  If you struggle with budgeting, you should head over to Lemon Blessings. My friend, Sarah has some awesome tools for you there.

Fresh Air

Ahhhhh, can you feel it?  Deep breath in, deep breath out. Take it in.  Doesn’t that just make you smile?

For More Happiness

Stop and Smell the Roses

One of my favorite places to study my Bible is out on our back deck.  We live on over 6 acres and our home is surrounded by trees. There’s a river flowing nearby. I’ve got flowers growing all over the place. When I’m out there on our deck, I can hear the river rushing, the birds singing, the breeze blowing and I can see the clouds floating by in a sunny blue sky. 

I can’t help but thank our glorious God for all of His creation. I get such peace when I’m out there. Even if you’re at Lowe’s in the garden center, the flowers are gorgeous. Stop and take a whiff.

Enjoy Family and Friends

These are the most special people on this earth to you.  Spend time with them. Have fun and play with them. Prioritize them!  Let them know how much they mean to you. Tell them you love them. Show them you love them.   Be a great influence and witness for Christ to them. Cherish them.

Practice Generosity

I love generosity! I feel so good when I’ve done something to help someone in need.  I’m filled with joy when I can give money to someone who needs it more than I do. Especially when it hurts a little.  You’ve heard the phrase, give until it hurts? Why not? Try it, you might like it!

Spend Money on Experiences

I love this idea, especially since our kids are older. We don’t need any more stuff.  We need memories! I’ve got plans for horseback riding and hot air ballooning, just to name a few. Don’t worry though, I’m sure to write a blog post about this crazy, quad amputee woman and her experiences with such great adventures.

Act Happy! 

If my list of simple daily habits for happiness in life doesn’t give you enough ideas, then just pretend.  Act how you want to feel. Fake it until you make it. Although if this list doesn’t help, I recommend you talk to your doctor.

Play With Your Pets

How much fun is it to play with your dog?  Our dog, Ruby is so much fun. She jumps and wiggles and has so much fun when we get home, that you can’t help but laugh.  There’s so much love in a dog. It’s admiring, forgiving, wonderful love.

Celebrate Successes

It doesn’t matter the size of your success, celebrate anyway.  Did you get a promotion? Celebrate! Did your child just walk for the first time or say, Momma?  Celebrate! That’s what is so great about a to-do list. Crossing an item off or checking it off, is a little success in itself. It’s kind of like a little dance I do once my blog post is finished.  Just celebrate! Why? It’s fun and it makes us happy.

Habits of Happy Couples

Give Back

There’s so much need in this world.  It could be clothes or money or your time.  Volunteer and help. Plus, you never know the benefits that you’ll reap.  My friend Jessie, met her husband working with Habitat for Humanity.  How cool is that? There’s no better habit for a happy couple than meeting your future spouse! Jessie helps other women find their prayer focus in a distracting world at praywithconfidence.com.

Turn Your Worries Over to God

Cast your cares on him.  Last, but certainly not least, you need God! I Peter 5:7 tells us “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  Rejoice in the Lord while you’re at it.

There you have it!  Your 35 Simple Daily Habits For Happiness in Life.  I hope that I’ve given you some great ideas on how to make happiness a habit.

If I’m missing anything, I’d really like to know. If you want more ideas in the happiness vein, you may also like How to Find Happiness:   10 Simple Ways or What is True Happiness? + a 30 Day Happiness Challenge.