Everyone wants to be happy right? How come we hardly ever do things to try to be actively happy? I have been studying happiness for years now. It’s totally fascinating! The field of positive psychology is growing and so is the available knowledge over what we can do to be happy. If you want to know even more about happiness you can check out my blog at zoshamarie.com.
College can be an extremely stressful point of transition in your life. With so much turbulence, students can barely find time to do their laundry, let alone actively try to be happy. Here are few super simple tricks every college student has time to do to make sure they can smile through the stress of school.
- Be Grateful
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It’s so easy to be complacent when we are busy. Our brains are in fact programmed to fixate on the stressful and embarrassing moments in our life. However, if you can consciously do an inventory of all the good things in your life you will be able to shut down that stress and fear! So, when you wake up in the morning, are walking to class, or are waiting in line for a smoothie, try to list things in your head that make you feel grateful. If you want to take it a step further, try using a journal or saying outloud what makes you feel grateful. It will totally turn around your day. Soon, this will be a habit and you will be a happier person because of it.
- Focus on Relationships
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Science will tell you that human interaction is the single most important factor in our happiness. In the midst of being a college student, it’s easy to neglect the people who are closest to us. Last year, I made an effort to put down my notes and spend intentional time with the people I love. This meant walking upstairs to checking on a sorority sister and calling my mom just to chat. The time you invest in your relationships will be well worth the return. If the people in your life are negative and aren’t making you happy, them maybe its time to move on. You want to surround yourself with people who lift you up. In college, you can get stuck in circles of people you don’t really like. Its okay to drop a friendship if it is for your own good. Let all your relationships make you better!
- Be Active
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I know you think you are too stressed and too busy to get to the gym, but those 30 minutes on the treadmill are totally worth your time. When you are active your body releases certain endorphins that make you feel more happier. Even if you can’t make it to the gym, try to be more active. Instead of driving your car across campus, plan andhead, and go for a walk. This is going to make your body feel better and improve your mood. The more you make an effort to go to the gym, the better you will feel and the more you will want to go. It is a wonderful cycle of happiness!
- Make Time for Things You Enjoy
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The stress of college is so real. You can get so caught up in getting ahead on your next assgiment or making it on time to a meeting that you forget to enjoy life. You don’t have to feel guilty about taking a night off to get some ice cream or watch a rom com. Maybe your guilty pleasure is watching Youtube, or cross stiching. It totally accpetable, and I am infact encouraging you to take some time to do the things you enjoy doing, even if they don’t seem productive. The happier you are the better you will preform in your classes and your social life anyway.
While these tips might give you a start, being happy is really all about trying. There are of course circumstances that can put a damper on our mood, but for the most part if you want to be happy you can be. So, what ever you thing will work the best for you and then stick with it!