Happiness: 11 Tips for Finding Your Way

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To be happy is an innate human desire, slightly different but no less important than food, sleep and shelter. Happiness is what allows your mind and spirit to be nurtured and to grow. On your road to wellness, your first stop along the way should be to dump your desire for perfection at the curb. Letting go of the desire to be "perfect" will free you to feel the happiness you crave. Below are 11 tips to develop more reasonable and attainable expectations for all the important areas in life, from career to relationships and even your body:

Finding Your Happiness

11) Be Forgiving. It's important to forgive your friends and loved ones, yes, but here we're referring to the forgiveness you need to give to yourself! You're human and you're entitled to make mistakes, so don't be so hard on yourself.

10) Be Realistic. It's great to set goals and standards for yourself, but make sure they're attainable. For instances, if your desire is to lose weight, resolve to lose one pound per week, not 10.

9) Live Healthy. Rather than obsessing over the number on you scale, forget about your weight and focus instead on exercising regularly and eating food that will nourish your body. It is recommended to integrate "me time" into your daily life too, such as taking time out to exercise both your mind and your body to feel empowered and ready to conquer your day.

8) Decide What is Most Important to You. Once you have done this, center your life around those items (this probably means cutting out other activities to make room for those that count the most).

7) Delegate. If you can't figure out how to do it on autopilot, think about who might be able to complete certain tasks that you do now. Then delegate everything and anything you can. It's okay to ask others for help! This includes sharing housework, caring for the kiddos and cooking with your spouse, significant other, family member or housemate.

6. Keep Your Home Clean, Not Spotless. A clean home is important, but it shouldn't keep you up at night if you're a day overdue to vacuum or clean the bathroom.

5. Learn to Say NO. This is not selfish...it's about survival and living your life the way YOU want to. If you're taking on too much, this means that you are likely not doing your best at the things you're taking on.

4. Make Your Work Schedule Work for You. As much as possible, see clients or schedule meetings in one geographic area on the same day of the week or schedule presentations for the time of day when you're most alert. You can also set aside an hour or two for returning phone calls and voice mails, and time for a closed-door policy that allows you to concentrate.

3. Parent Positively. Let your kids know that you're proud of them and highlight their achievements rather than their failures. Also, as you celebrate your child's strengths, accept them as they are - including their weaknesses. Check out this great You Tube video: 9 Things You Should Say to Your Kids Everyday.

2. Think ONLY Positive Thoughts About Yourself, Your Life and Your Value for Others. If negative thoughts enter your mind, stop them, let them go, and instead, allow yourself to feel good. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Focus on the positive actions and desired outcomes instead of listening to demoralizing, demeaning self-talk or negative chatter.

Practicing daily affirmations after you wake up, before bed or anytime during the day can also help you focus your thoughts to only the bright side. When you feel stressed out, affirmations can also help you to relax, calm your mind, soothe your emotions and create a state of deep relaxation in your body.

1. Just Breathe. It takes just seconds of taking slow deep breaths to experience the benefits. A very simple form of meditation, deep breathing has calming effects and is especially helpful during stressful situations. A few deep breaths may very well stop you from saying the wrong thing that you may regret.

Live in the Moment

 "Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works out." - Jim Rohn

As you let go of the idea of being "perfect" in all aspects of your life, don't forget to surround your body with thoughts of acceptance and love. Realize that your greatest wealth is health and happiness. Learn to live in the moment as then it's easier to do what's important. If you will change, than everything will change for you.

Help your mind to slow down by appreciating every moment as it comes, even if you're doing something you'd rather not be doing. By living in the moment, you only think about what's going on right now, not what you'll be doing in 10 minutes or what needs to get done by 5:00. By living in the moment, you get to experience life as it happens, and not miss it while you're worrying about what else needs to get done.

Work harder on yourself than on anything else and the likelihood of finding your way to happiness is a given.

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