What’s the secret recipe to happiness? Are there key elements in lifestyle design that could give us more fulfillment and unlock the gates of joy?

We want to be happy.

Not lukewarm, oh yeah we’re happy…

I’m talking “I can’t freaking believe we get to wake up and be us!” kind of happy.

At first thought, images of lounging on a white beach under an umbrella with a strong drink come to mind. Toes in the sand. Or maybe a big pile of cash? Extra commas and zeros on that fat bank account balance. But if we dig deeper, the question of happiness is a lot more complex than endless vacations and stacks of hundred dollar bills.

Every person has a different definition for what makes them happy. We are all unique in our wants, needs, and interests. But taking a step back, we found many generalities that hold true for us and might also for you too.

Many of these tips are personal and internal, while others can be implemented into thoughtful lifestyle design. You can create the life you’ve always dreamed of with a little effort and some foresight.

Here are 24 of our best tips for a happy life.

1. Make More Memories

Life is a collection of memories. The more amazing experiences we look back on, the more we feel we’ve lived a rich life. At every chance we get to make special memories with loved ones or each other, we always try to say YES! As they say with success, the same can be said for making memories, ninety percent of life is just showing up. The best stories of your life just might start with…

Sure, I’ll go.

Don’t rob yourself of the chance to collect special memories in life! If you let them, these things will constantly try to roadblock you from the life you want:

• • Work

• • Routine

• • Laziness

• • Bad relationships

• • Consumerism

• Debt

Since work makes up a large portion of our life, we’re constantly reminding ourselves “You can always make more money, but you can’t make more memories.” At your deathbed, would you look back and wish you had spent just a little more time on that work assignment? Are you truly happy you sat on the couch watching those TV shows? And when I’m tempted with the choice of buying something, I weigh it carefully in my mind and always try to remind myself – pick memories over things.

2. T R A V E L ✈️

Expand your mind and travel. The earlier in life the better to learn the gift of compassion, and to discover how diverse the world is. Experience new cultures & languages. Taste the food. Immerse yourself. See the world as it is. As a side effect, you’ll be more grateful for what you have at home.

? Quotes to Inspire Your Wanderlust:

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page. ~ St. Augustine

If you think adventures are dangerous, try routine: It’s Lethal. ~ Paul Coelho

A ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. ~ John A. Shedd

Travel far enough, you meet yourself. ~ David Mitchell

It’s a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what’s changed, is you. ~ Eric Roth

Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul. ~ Jamie Lyn Beatty

Find Wanderlust Quotes that resonate with you.

3. Keep Learning ???

Like a tree, if you’re not constantly growing, you’re dying. Read books, listen to podcasts, gather skills, take classes or workshops. Dance! Better yourself. Expand your mind learning new languages through apps like Duolingo. It will help you in more ways than you know!

4. Be Positively *Charged* ??

Raise your frequency and the universe can’t help but deliver good things into your life. Positivity keeps you in an abundant, limitless mindset where anything is possible and tomorrow will be bright. Negativity always hurts you and is short-term, small-minded thinking. Try Tim Ferriss’ 21 day No-Complaint Experiment. You’ll be surprised at how much negativity you didn’t notice around you.

LIFE BONUS: Turn off the news. It’s all negative, elicits fear, and does NOTHING to help you. If something important is happening, you’ll find out about it.

5. Eat More Plants ?

You don’t have to be vegan to see huge rewards from the power of plants. Use the 95/5 Rule. Make 95% of what you eat come from plants. Plants have everything your body needs and more. Protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, FLAVOR. Learn to cook. Eat the rainbow. Center your food around starches like rice, beans, and grains. Snack on fruits. Include nuts & seeds. Olives! Make your hipster avocado toast. Take over the world.

 

Rice bowls are so customizable! ? #ricebowl #vegan #tofu #yum #foodporn

A post shared by Seeking Saturdays (@seekingsaturdays) on Nov 6, 2016 at 10:23am PST

6. WHOLE FOOD ROCKS ??

Get fresh, living food into your meals! Feed that precision machine you call your body pure jet fuel. You’re worth it. Try for 1/4 to 1/3 of your meal fresh. Buying packaged or prepared like a can of beans? The less ingredients the better (try 5 or less). Get closer to the original food (think brown rice vs white). Fresh, chopped herbs act as multi-vitamins with zest. Dump the chemicals. It’s cheaper, fills you up faster, makes you feel good, and turns you into a ROCK STAR. 😉

MIND TRICK: Start seeing foods with non-negotiables as inedible. To you, it’s no longer food. Period. Some of our non-negotiables: [partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, most vegetable oils, nitrites, …] ← Add yours here.

7. Thirsty? Drink Water.* ?

Water is life. It’s your body’s lubrication. Hydrate with pure water when you’re thirsty. Get a filter for chlorine. Bored taste buds? Add fresh lemon, lime, cucumber, herbs, sea salt, or in a pinch, add “True Lemon” powders. Don’t worry about getting “8 glasses per day” – just drink when you’re thirsty.

*Working out? Add sea salt, sugar, or honey.

We love water bottles like SmartWater for travel and especially for backpacking! The light weight, rounded edges, and durability is awesome. We refill them endlessly.

8. Drink a Little ? (Less)

Alcohol, wine in particular. People who drink a little wine outlive non-drinkers. Learn from centenarians in all Blue Zones*, where people live to 100 most often. People who regularly drink a glass of wine with friends and/or a meal (think Wine @ 5) live longer. Maybe due to less stress? Antioxidants? Flavonoids? Good friends? Good food? You decide.

? THINK: Women up to 1 glass per day, men 2 glasses. No you can’t save them up.

*Excluding Adventists – they don’t drink & you don’t NEED to start either if you choose not to.

9. Build Riches ? Fill Your Treasure Che$t

Money is a powerful tool. Learn to harness it and you gain freedom and opportunity. Here it is simply:

Earn more. Spend less. Save often & INVEST.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. It helps us a ton!

If you make the above a way of life, you have unlimited opportunities to be the best version of yourself, help others, and have the stability and confidence to pursue your dreams. Money is not the root of all evil. It’s only a tool – like a hammer. Not having money (& even worse being deep in debt) enslaves you, greatly limits your opportunities, and robs you of your precious life.

Here’s a thought experiment. “I’d rather be poor and happy, than rich and sad.” ⟵ This is a false comparison and doesn’t help you. Why can’t we be rich AND happy? Nurture a mindset of amazing abundance. Do the work, save your money, invest in yourself and others. Be humble. And by the way, start by saving up a robust emergency fund. It’s worth it and will save you over and over again.

TRACK YOUR NET WORTH: We use Personal Capital.

10. Less is MORE

Less things, less bills, less commitments, less worry. ← See what I did there?

Make life easy to manage.

11. YOU Rise by Lifting OTHERS ?

If you want to reach the next level, always lift others. That’s being a good leader. Give credit, mentor, teach others skills that help them and they will take care of you. You climb mountains by lifting others first. Brighten someone’s day. Actually care about people. A rising tide floats all boats. If you can make someone better than you at something, you’ve become a master. Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours.

12. LOVE YOURSELF

You are priority #1.

Take care of yourself so you can take care of others. Be kind to yourself. You’re not perfect, but you’re perfectly you. Be you. There will never be another like you. Be the best version of yourself. You have a lot to give, but first take care of YOU.

Prioritize Sleep (8+ Hours!)	☑️	Keep your body fully charged. It's more critical than you think and affects every part of your body. Read this book → Why We Sleep
Let Go of Anger	☑️	“Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” 💞 COUPLES TIP: Don't go to bed angry.
Stop Worrying	☑️	Quiz Yourself: 1) Do you care about whatever it is? 2) Does it affect you directly? 3) Can you do something about it? If you said yes to ALL of the above:   ► Do something about it. If you said no to ONE of the above:   ► Let it go. 💣 TRUTH BOMB: Worrying is like praying for what you don't want to happen.
Be You	☑️	Don't compare yourself to others. Comparison steals joy. “The only person you should compare yourself to is the person you were yesterday.” "It’s better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you’re not."
ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION.	🤔	Imagine a much older, future YOU. They are looking back through time at you now, hoping, wishing, & counting on YOU to take care of them. Will you?

READ THIS BOOK → You Are a Badass – by Jen Sincero

13. Move Your Ass ?

Make yourself strong. Make yourself capable. Walk often. With others. Sweat. Even better, go for a hike in nature. Dance! Immerse yourself in the world. Our bodies were meant for motion & are built to MOVE. Find activities that don’t feel like exercise to energize, renew, and light you on FIRE!

14. S-T-R-E-T-C-H

You learn a lot about yourself by stretching. First, your limits. Then, over time, what you can achieve with a small amount of daily persistence. Want superhero capability? Flexibility is 1 of 4 cornerstones you need to develop to be extraordinary in everything. Try yoga. It’s like meditation for your muscles, expands your potential, and keeps you feeling young. Stretch. It’s good for you.

SUPERHERO TIP: Maximize your body’s 4 cornerstones:

Flexibility, Endurance, Strength, & Balance

Great athletes apply the four above to TECHNIQUE and accomplish incredible mastery. You can too, but don’t forget – use it or lose it!

15. Love ❤️ Genuinely

You’ll be happier. You have precious people in your life RIGHT NOW. Today, be the reason someone feels loved. The rich relationships you have with your soulmate, lover, family, or circle of good friends are the true treasures in life that make you wealthy. Even strangers. Be kind. Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet. Love is wanting others to be happy. It’s the rare equation “Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already had.” – Jim Rohn. Love is power.

I love you, and that’s the beginning and end of everything.

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

? Smile at a stranger. See what happens. ?

16. Find Your Tribe & Love Them Hard

There are people out there like YOU. Being part of something bigger than yourself is special and a key component to living a longer & happier life. Have a sense of belonging.

Hobbies are a good place to gravitate like-minded people. Get involved in your community. Volunteer. Help others. For us, our dance community is our family. Our friends become our chosen family. Whenever we can, we try to make a difference in someone’s life and you can too. Start with your tribe and you will go far together.

17. D?n’t Be a Dumbass ??

For real. Don’t be stupid and smoke, drink excessively, ruin your life with drugs, violence, and any other number of ways you can hurt yourself and others. You know this. Seriously, don’t be a dumbass. You’re better than that. (See #12. Love Yourself)

18. Have Things to Look Forward To ?

Make sure to always have things to look forward to, on a regular basis. Sometimes the anticipation is better than the thing itself. This makes the future bright. We look forward to weekly dance lessons, regular events with friends, yearly booked vacations, and of course our long-term goal of future financial stability.

19. PURPOSE = Helping People + Your Talent

Have a purpose. Or several. The internal fire that makes you excited to wake up in the morning is important. It keeps you going. Nurture it. Don’t know what your life purpose is? Can’t seem to find it? MAKE YOUR PURPOSE. You are not born with one. Your default human programming has only hardwired you to survive and procreate. You need to upload new programs to that brain of yours. You discover purpose by doing and interacting. When you discover your talents, enjoy developing them and then use those to help people, you have a purpose.

20. Believe in Something* ?

Keep an open mind and notice you’re part of something much bigger. The Universe in all forms is a magnificent tapestry of beautiful patterns. Maybe that something is God. Maybe that something is nature or the cosmos. You might hold spiritual beliefs of one of the world’s many religions* or another belief system like secular Buddhism. Or maybe science is your language to describe all that is. No matter what you believe, we are part of something infinitely incredible in this moment in time. Stop and smell the roses.

*But keep it to yourself.

21. Sloooooow Down & Be Present ???

You’re alive. Right now in this very moment. Learn to be mindful more often.

  

“Every day is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.”

Ways to slow down:

• • Take walks in nature

• • Meditate

• • Focus on your breathing

• • Notice your body’s senses

• • Eat slower

• • Concentrate on the details

• • Listen intently without forming a response

• Look from a different perspective

22. Be Grateful Daily

Do you know how many coincidences had to miraculously happen for you to be here? You are a walking miracle. You have so many wonders in your life that many people in the world don’t have (See #2. Travel). Be sure to take a little time every day and be thankful for who and what you do have. Gratitude and anger can’t coexist. We’re grateful you’re here. ?

STRESS RELIEF TIP: Take 2 minutes a day to yourself, look out the window, and wish a person you know well. – Tim Ferriss

23. Take ACTION

What’s all of the above without action? You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do. Make a list. LET’S DO THIS.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.” ~ Napolean Hill

WAKE UP CALL: Every day, take a moment to sit at your deathbed & see what your dying self has to say about your life.

24. Live a Bold Life & Face Fear

If you want to live a life you’ve never lived, you have to do things you’ve never done. Dare to live the life you’ve always wanted. Growing isn’t comfortable. If you’re scared you might fail at something, it just means you care. Every time you overcome fear, you learn and build confidence in yourself. Take more chances. Dance more dances.

“So many people tiptoe through life, so carefully, to arrive safely at death.” – Jermaine Evans

FOOL THEM: Fake it till you make it.

 

More inspiration to overcome your fears:

• “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasures you seek.”
• “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” – Seth Godin
• “Fear is temporary. Regret is forever.”
• “If you can’t beat fear, do it scared.”
• “Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.” -Mae West

Wrapping Up

I’m sure our thoughts will evolve as we go through life, but these are the little things that have stuck with us through the years. They touch on every aspect of life and probably not coincidentally, we’ve also hit all 8 Pillars of Wellness! Pretty cool to find after putting these tips together. I hope we’ve inspired you to think about what YOU value you life. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Have we missed anything? How do you find happiness in life?