One of the greatest feelings you can possess is happiness. When you are happy, people want to be around you.

Happiness can spread quickly and is very contagious when gratitude, generosity, and positivity are added to your relationships.

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama

Simple rules for happiness:

Here are some rules about happiness that you should probably ignore if they aren’t making you any happier.

1. Accept what is:

Learn to accept things about the world that you cannot change. Don’t get ‘bent out of shape’ over things that you cannot change.

“Happiness is a function of accepting what is.” – Werner Erhard

2. Free your heart from hatred:

Forgiveness is the first step toward freeing my heart from hatred.

Forgiveness, especially when we feel injustice or hurt or both is difficult. But life is ultimately too short, and burdening one’s self with grudges or bitterness will never lead to anything positive.

Happiness, by nature, is positive. We can’t be happy and bitter at the same time.

“The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.” – Norman Vincent Peale

3. Love more:

Some people describe love as a feeling, which is part of the reason it gets mixed up with happiness. But love is a lot more than a feeling, and it does not immediately equate to happiness.

“Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Try to love and enjoy the world more. Friends (the good and the bad of them) and loving and accepting the world as a whole.

“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” – Barbara De Angelis

4. Free your mind from troubles:

Decide to frequently enjoy the moment – without focusing all your energy on the past or the future.

Learning how to free your mind from worry, and reduce the overall amount of stress in your life is the key to having a happier and more fulfilling life.

“Free your mind from all that troubles you. God will take care of things. Trust in him, I beg you, and you will have the fulfillment of what your heart desires.” – St. Vincent de Paul

5. Live your life simply:

Find and enjoy the simple pleasures that are available in life.

“Simplicity is the essence of happiness.” – Cedric Bledsoe

Life is about choices. Making the choice to live life in a simpler way is something that is becoming a popular thing to do.

“The meaning of life is that it is to be lived.”- Bruce Lee

6. Give more to others:

Helping others may just be the secret to living a life that is not only happier but also healthier, wealthier, more productive, and meaningful. It is better to give than to receive.

There is a Chinese saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

“Making money is a happiness; making other people happy is a super-happiness” – Muhammad Yunus

7. Be grateful:

Make a daily or twice daily habit of looking at the good things you have going.

Think of all the wonderful things you have to be grateful for right now. It could be your family. Or your health. Maybe your home. Your friends. Your brain. Your heart. Your spirit.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhardt

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder. – Henry David Thoreau

The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, say rather, loved in spite of ourselves; this conviction the blind have. – Surinder Mehta

Happiness depends upon ourselves – Aristotle

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. – Mahathma Gandhi

Love is trembling happiness. – Kahlil Gibran

If you want to be happy, be. – Leo Tolstoy

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? – Albert Einstein

Laughter is the tonic, the relief, the surcease for pain. — Charlie Chaplin

Related:

Alphabet of Happiness

How to bring more laughter into your life?

Benefits of Laughing

Happiness at work