Most of us know happiness as a feeling that comes and goes, but there are a number of people who feel like life is awesome pretty much all the time. After finding this love of life in myself, I’ve been studying the way others find their joy — and more importantly how they maintain it. Recently I released a survey on the internet which had over 500 participants. Of them, 152 people told me that life is awesome, and shared how they keep it that way. Without changing their wording much, this broke down to a list of 82; some stricter funneling then made it a list of only 8 points. Both have some interesting things to say. Let’s take a look!

[Bonus: While reading (or skimming) the first list, if an item seems to pop out at you, take a moment to remember it.]

List A — How they stay happy

Having gratitude compared to others

Practice gratitude daily

Meditate

Yoga

Live in the moment

Be mindful of my thoughts and actions

Practice mindfulness

Be mindful of others

Serve others

Ease others’ suffering

Make others happy

Practice hospitality

Interact positively with others

Involve myself in local communities

Socialize regularly

Foster connections with people

Have meaningful connections

The people I choose to have in my life add value to it

Get support from people

Talk to my spouse

Talk with my significant other

Spend time with my kids

Spend time with my pet

Play video games with my brother

My friends

Exercise

Take care of my body with what I eat and do

Get enough sleep

Maintain discipline

Keep a schedule

Follow a routine

Finish all my chores so I can focus on what i care about

Have goals

Have a purpose

Review plans

Achieve goals

Achieve financial stability

Be productive

Work hard

Do meaningful work

Pursue my passions

Have integrity

Develop good habits

Journal

Read

Reflect

Get enough alone time

Track the triggers that make me happy and unhappy

Always remember the meaning of happiness

Happiness comes from within

Nothing matters, thus everything matters

Seek meaning

God

Religion

Lean on higher power

Go with flow

Remind myself it’s not all on me

Keep perspective on problems

Remember hardship is temporary

Don’t linger on failures

Remind myself we all make mistakes

Believe in my mantra

Motivate self

Take control of my life

End victim mentality

Believe my actions make a difference

Focus on what I can control

Cherish my opportunities

Challenge myself

Seek new experiences

Learn new things

Create

Be awesome at science stuff

Foster self confidence

Remember myself is my identity, not my circumstances

Be myself

Love myself

Mentally treat myself like I would my best friend

Embrace life, don’t fear it

Always be content with life

Keep a happy attitude, no matter what

Think positively

So there are a bazillion (read: 82) things on a list that vaguely have to do with each other. But how vague is this connection? I originally tried mapping these trends with the Needs Inventory proposed by the CNVC, but despite some overlap it quickly became clear that this map couldn’t frame our picture. This is because the number one thing that makes people happy isn’t what they have, and it isn’t what they do, it’s what they think. Almost 10% of the people on this entire list simply put “Think positively”, while 4% said practicing gratitude daily was key to their happiness.

With this in mind, I picked out the trends I saw, crunched some numbers, and out popped a new lists. Let’s take a peek.

List B — Staying Happy, the tl;dr Version

Think positive thoughts: 35.1% Connect with others: 21.2% Self discipline: 13.25% Physical Health: 7.25% Grounding Practices: 7.25% New Experiences: 4.6% Passions: 4% Other: 7.35%

No, this list wasn’t formed through purely quantitative scientific metrics, but the specific percentages aren’t the point here. List B’s purpose is to pick out the trends of list A so that we can more clearly see how all these responses connect. This begs the question: if list B is list A simplified, then why’d I make everyone scroll through list A? Because together they make a big point: the things that keep people happy are very simple, but the way we practice each differs for every individual. This is because we all have unique strengths and weaknesses to lean on, improve in, and grow through.

So where can we go from here?

Figuring out your own ways of staying happy can sound daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone. You have articles, online resources, maybe some friends & family, and 2 good launching point strategies I’m going to hit you with right now:

List A exercise: Did you remember an item from list A like I asked you? If so ponder why. Is it something you could use more of in your life? How could you alter it to better fit you, your strengths, and your needs? Write it down, and read or remind yourself of it every day. List B exercise: Go down list B and think about each one. Think about what you do in these categories, and what you would like to do in them. Keep doing this until something sticks in your mind, just one thing you can start doing or thinking. There’s no wrong answer, it’s whatever feels best to you in your body. Alright, got one? Write it down and read it or remind yourself of it every day.

If these lists of actions show anything at all, it’s that happiness takes effort. But it’s effort we are all capable of giving with the right support. The only thing stopping you is thinking that you can’t. Trust me.

Like what you read?

This is only the first in a series of articles outlining results from my studies, so if you’re curious to learn more please follow me! If you’d like to take part in future studies, please connect on FB here or online here. I’m also building a community website to make getting happy and receiving emotional support fun! Check out the site at getyourshittogether.co

Thanks for reading!