International Day of Happiness: Psychologist's tips to find joy in small things

Happiness is an overriding factor that drives people’s lives. Many dream of a life soaked in happiness and peace. On the International Day of Happiness that falls today, you should know that instead of waiting for happiness to come to you, you should learn to bank on the little joys you hardly pay attention to in your life. All it takes are small tweaks in one's thoughts to make this a habit that will contribute immensely to your mental health. Here's how to go about it:

Hold on to good memories
Happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin. But people always remember the moments of grief. They don’t hold on to memories that brought joy to their lives, enough. It is high time to change this habit and start relishing the moments of happiness in your lives. Just laugh your heart out by recollecting the memories that made you smile. Make it a point to migrate to memories of euphoria while passing through instances of grief and remorse. This practice can make your life cheerful.

No one is infallible
One of the basic traits of human beings is to make mistakes. You can get the motivation to move towards the path of righteousness only when you err. See how children get things right after many falls. So, there is no need to brood over past mistakes. Try to zero in on where things went wrong and make amendments. Just see mistakes as steps towards something right. And make sure not to repeat mistakes.

Be patient and give yourself some time
There is an appropriate time for everything to happen in life. Don’t be in a rush as things would happen later than never. Think twice or thrice before doing something. Think positive and have a belief that tomorrow would be a better day. Be patient if the whole world is against you. The dark clouds would clear at some point of time for the days of great joy to appear on the horizon.

Some days won’t be your day
Keep in mind that nothing would work for you on some days and that doesn’t mean that your whole life would be like that. Everyone has to go through good and bad days, and that’s the law of nature. You should realize that adversity doesn’t mean that everything has come to a standstill. Don’t ever hate your life because of the not-so-good days.

Move forward with confidence
No one can predict what life has in store. You have to gain the confidence and mental agility to face the challenges thrown at you. You should be resolute to move forward no matter what happens. Many people may not be kind towards you and try to drain you mentally. But you have to move forward in life with determination and realization that you have to call the shots in your life. You should also realize that right and wrong are subjective. Whatever happens, you should move forward, and that should be the credo.