Probably every one of us is interested in living a happy life. But sometimes happiness can seem like one big mystery. Even though we try so hard for it, it still doesn’t come. In reality, however, being happy is about nothing but adhering to 10 principles. Which are they?

10 principles of living a happy life

You may already know some of these principles, or at least have heard of them. Nevertheless, I dare say that few of us really adhere to these principles. And that’s why so few people can be happy in life for a long time.

However, once you understand these principles and begin to practice in your life, your life can change almost overnight. Learning to apply these principles really well is a process full of learning and improving, but you will begin to feel the first results very quickly.

1. Decide to be happy

People feel that until they have certain things or certain people in their lives, they cannot be happy. But this is only an illusion.

Regardless of the fact that you have not everything solved in your life and according to your ideas. Regardless, you may be annoyed by your job or your partner. Nevertheless, you can decide to be happy now.

And this decision is the first step to a happy life.

Principle number one: decide to be happy now.

2. Give yourself a good intention

Now you may be asking yourself, what is the intention? It is our inner decision or setting.

The intention works like our inner compass, leading us where we want to go.

Unfortunately, most people have no intentions, at least not consciously. Even so, we always have some inner intention, we are little aware of it. And that’s why we often end up in life somewhere we don’t want to be at all.

Imagine that you have the intention “I am happy and I have a beautiful life”. What would your life look like then? How would you make decisions and how would you set your priorities if this were your vision and internal setting?

However, if you do not determine any intention in life, our intention will be created in the subconscious itself.

According to our beliefs about life and about ourselves.

You can end up with an intention that sounds like this: “I’ll try and see it somehow”, or “life is hard but somehow I have to endure it”, or “I’m not lucky in life and I still have to solve some problems”.

How do you think your life will go when an inner compass with such a wording guides you? Will you be happy, fulfilled and satisfied?

Principle number two: put a good purpose in life. Set your inner compass in the direction you really want to walk.

3. Do the job you love

At first glance, this is a fairly good principle. On the other hand, how many of us really follow it?

We usually spend eight hours a day at work, which is almost a third of our lives (excluding childhood and retirement). If you don’t like your job, you’re basically exchanging a third of your life for money. Not that money is not needed, but no one will give you back that time.

So find a way to enjoy your current job. It’s not just about the work itself, but also about great colleagues, a pleasant working environment and, overall, how to feel good at work.

If you know that your current job will never satisfy you, it will probably be better to change your job. Find a job that you really enjoy or that you will even love.

Another possible approach is to find a way to cut the time spent on work to a minimum, of course for the greatest possible earnings. This will then allow you to live the lifestyle you really desire. You will find a very interesting guide on how to do this in the bestseller Four-Hour Working Week by Timothy Ferriss.

Principle number three: do the job you love and enjoy.

4. Create harmony in your life

Another important principle for living a happy life is to maintain harmony in your life. Our lives are made up of many aspects, and most of us tend to neglect some of them.

This then leads to us feeling overwhelmed or, on the contrary, bored, frustrated and unhappy.

What is part of our lives?

• job / career / business
• finance
• family
• friends
• education
• health
• personal development
• home
• travel
• interests / hobbies

Every area needs to be taken care of. That’s why it’s important that you realize your priorities right now at every stage of your life. And how much energy and attention you want to give each of this area.

The equilibrium point where we devote exactly as much as we want to each area is unique to each of us. There is no model of how we “should have it set up and organized in our lives.” Each of us has to figure it out for ourselves.

Principle number four: Find your balance point at this stage of life and maintain that harmony in your life.

5. Motivate yourself and fulfill your dreams

Just few people are motivated in their lives for a long time and fulfill their dreams. Even though most people long for change in their lives, we often return to the old ways after a short-term determination.

Why? It’s certainly not that we humans can’t achieve amazing things. On the contrary, it is proven that people who set themselves goals also achieve them very often.

However, it is necessary to learn how to motivate yourself properly. And to understand that even motivation and your dreams need to be constantly worked on.

On the one hand, it seems like a lot of hard work. And maybe sometimes it is. But on the other hand, you should enjoy this process, even if it is sometimes a bit difficult.

After all, you are heading for your dreams! Behind what you desire and what evokes in you a feeling of fulfillment and elevates you to the clouds!

Life is about fulfilling your dreams. Duty and work are part of life, but achieving your own dreams is why you came to this world.

Principle number five: never stop motivating and fulfill your dreams!

6. Take care of your health and body

You have certainly heard this principle before, and not once. Even so, few people really follow it.

The body is the absolute basis for a happy life. And people know it. After all, we wish our family and friends good health at every opportunity. We all realize that quality and satisfaction in life is highly dependent on health.

What we eat fundamentally affects our body. Not only its shape and weight, but also its condition and our mood. Does that mean you can never have bowl of Christmas cookies or a birthday cake?

There is no point in denying our favorite foods completely. But keep in mind that everything is needed in moderation. Personally, I love food, so I have no desire to moralize you in this regard.

But if you don’t feel good in your own body, how do you want to enjoy life? That just doesn’t work.

Does that mean you have to look like a top model? A few extra pounds don’t matter. It’s really important that you feel good in your body, love it and, most importantly, that it is healthy and in good condition.

Try to consume as much fresh food as possible, which nature has created for us. She knows what she’s doing and adds a lot of nutrients and vitamins to our food. You won’t find many good substances in chemically processed foods.

Don’t forget to involve some regular exercise as well. One that you enjoy and makes you happy. Don’t force yourself into something you don’t want. We are all original and we prefer a different sport. So find yours and do it regularly.

Principle number six: take care of your health and body, you only have one, and it is the foundation of a happy life.

7. Work on your mental well-being

The biggest reason we are not happy in our lives is that we are overwhelmed by our feelings. When you are out of control, whether you feel good or bad, happy, or sad and angry, you are out of control.

Therefore, the biggest step to happiness is to learn to take responsibility for your feelings.

Once you realize that happiness is just a state of your mind, you have half won. Then you know that you will achieve happiness by working on your thoughts and your well-being.

It’s a much more effective way than looking for happiness in things and the people around you. They may be part of our happiness, but never its source.

How to work on your mental well-being? Meditations are a great tool, but also walks or any activity that will help calm your mind.

8. Pay attention to personal development

Most of us realize that we have a body and we should take care of it. Slightly fewer people realize that we also have a mind that needs to be taken care of. And only a small number of people also take care of our third important part, and that is our soul.

As long as you neglect one of these three parts, body, mind or soul, you will never feel completely happy in life.

Again, we return to the idea that harmony and balance need to be maintained in life. And it is also necessary to have these three aspects of life in harmony.

According to Wikipedia, the soul is something like the “immaterial substance of the living entity” and it is the source of our unique personal identity. Personally, I would rather define it as “souls”. Our souls “live” in the body and the mind is our tool that we can use.

In any case, wherever our “I” is located in the body, the truth is that our “I” also needs to develop and work on itself.

When you watch nature, you realize that the only rule in nature is that everything is constantly evolving and changing. So even a person does not do well if he stays in one place for a long time, does not work on himself in any way, stagnates and does not develop.

If we do not work on ourselves, our lives will not change either. If we stay the same and think in the same patterns, our lives can never improve.

Therefore, the eighth principle is: pay attention to personal development. At least occasionally. And never stop working on yourself.

9. Remember that life is a journey

We often go through life, chase after our dreams and forget about the most fundamental thing.

From the first point, I mentioned that people are still waiting for something so that they can finally be happy. But life is not about having everything ready, fulfilled according to your ideas, and then you are finally enjoying it.

Life is about every day we live. About every good cup of coffee we drink, every good book we read. Also about every mouth, hug and kind word we receive for life. About all those days, weeks and years and how we spend them.

Don’t waste your life and enjoy every little thing, every single day. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes less, sad and angry days come, but enjoy yourself too. It’s all part of life.

Also, remember that you need to work for a lifetime for happiness, motivation and personal development. Don’t think that once you have it, you will have it forever. It is necessary to maintain this setting on a daily basis.

Just as you have to go to the gym several times a week and eat healthy if you want to maintain a great figure, you have to follow these ten principles of living a happy life if you want to be happy.

Principle number nine: Enjoy every step of your journey. And never stop working on yourself or your happiness.

10. Be grateful

The last principle of living a happy life is to appreciate something you value in your life every day.

It can be something small or even big, anything you feel grateful for in your life. Gratitude, like love, is a beautiful and high energy that you bring other beautiful things into your life.

Moreover, when we feel grateful, we focus in our lives on what we already have, instead of what we no longer have. And that makes us feel good. It also helps us focus on the essentials, not the little things that people sometimes do.

If you want, you can create a small notebook or diary in which you will write every day what you are grateful for that day. When your life is worse again, read your words and it is guaranteed to lift your spirits.

Principle number ten: be grateful every day for this beautiful gift of life and everything that has happened to you.