How to

be happy
The

Happy Heads
ev

100 ways to change your life

The

Happy Hut Ide

www.the-happy-hut.com
How to be
Contents
Happy
Contents

Introduction

Get Physical

Matters of the Mind

Relationships

The Future

The Present

Conclusion

The

Happy Heads
everyon

The

Happy Hut Ideas to cheer everyone up

www.the-happy-hut.com
W
elcome to How to be
Happy. Happiness is
what we all strive for but
Introduction
it can often be elusive. No-one
is happy all the time but there is
no doubt that we can certainly
improve our levels of happiness.

This is not usually an overnight

process, no one event in
anyone’s life is going to make
them suddenly happy. The path
to happiness is generally a series
of steps and actions each leading
to increased happiness. This
book will give you plenty of ideas
on how to do this. They are all
practical ideas that you can put
into action.

It will cover both physical and

mental improvements you can
make, and what you can do to
improve your happiness right
now, and how you can plan to
make yourself happier in the
future.

All the ideas have come from

what I’ve learned over the years
in my own quest for happiness
and I hope that they will be useful
and lead you towards greater
happiness.
Get Physical
Our physical and
mental states are
closely interlinked and
if you improve your
physical state, your
mental state and your
level of happiness
should follow.
 2

1. Do plenty of exercise
Exercise is particularly
important for improving your
levels of happiness because
it creates endorphins which
give your brain a natural high
and make you feel good.

2. Do lots of walking.
Walking is very good for you,
especially brisk walking. And
it is a low-impact exercise
so you shouldn’t damage
yourself in any way. Try
leaving your car or public
transport short of your
destination and walking the
rest of the way. You could
get a pedometer to measure
how far you are walking.
 3. Do some sport,
a) Try a new sport, pick something you think
you will enjoy as you’re more likely to stick
at doing it. And as well as the exercise, you’ll
learn new skills and meet new people. You
could either do the sport with a friend or join
a club or drop-in class at the local sports
centre.

b) Or start doing an old sport again.

If you played tennis at school and enjoyed it,
why not try starting to play it again.

4. Join a gym
But only if you think you’ll stick at it. Many
people join them (particularly in the New
Year) and despite being tied into a contract
rarely or never go, wasting their money. To
maximise your chances of sticking at it, pick a
gym near your work or home.
Check out the gym in advance, and see if
you are allowed to try it out for a day or two
before committing to a long-term contract that
can be hard to get out of.

5. Do exercises at home
As a cheap alternative to the gym, you could
do exercises such as press-ups and sit-ups
at home. Or you could buy some weights to
work out.

6. Go running.
A cheap and excellent exercise, but be
careful as it can be damaging on the body
especially to the knees. If you’d like more
4 detailed information you could get a book on
running.
7. Try Yoga or
7
Pilates.
As well as both
providing a great
low-impact work
out, other benefits
are increased
strength, flexibility,
and improved
circulation.
The breathing
and relaxation
exercises should
also be beneficial.
Pilates tends to
concentrate more
on the body and
strengthening it,
while Yoga is also
concerned with
the mind, and
aims to achieve
a spiritual insight
and tranquillity.
The best way to
learn is at a class,
but you can also
get books to learn
them both from.
Click for a Yoga
book or Pilates
book.
 8. Get enough sleep
8 If you’re tired, everything seems
worse and you’re more likely to
feel unhappy. Most people need
at least seven or eight hours
a night. It's important to go to
bed at a regular time and get
up at a regular time. If you have
problems sleeping, then things
to try are:

a) Good sleep hygiene

This should be the first step.

i) Make sure your sleeping area

is as quiet as possible, wear
ear-plugs if you are sensitive to
noise.

ii) Make sure the room is dark.

iii) Make sure your room is a

good temperature, not too hot or
cold

iv) Don’t drink stimulants such as

tea and coffee in the evening.

v) Avoid alcohol before bedtime.

Alcohol reduces sleep quality.

vi) Don’t eat a large meal before

bedtime, fatty foods in particular
take a lot of work for the body to
process.
 8
vii)
Stop smoking. As nicotine is a stimulant,
it disrupts sleep. And because it’s a
drug, withdrawal symptoms as the night
progresses will hamper sleep.
viii) Do more exercise. Along with the other
benefits, explained above, exercise will
also help you to sleep better.
xi) Try taking a warm bath before bed.
b) Reduce stress and anxiety
This is one of the key reasons for poor
sleep. Things to try are:
i) Deep breathing exercises
ii) Muscle relaxation. Starting at your feet
and working up to your head, tense up
each of your muscles and then relax them.
iii) Visualization. Picture yourself in a
peaceful, restful place, and concentrate on
how relaxed this place is making you feel.
c) Try natural remedies
Good ones to try are camomile, lemon
balm, valerian root, passionflower, lavender,
kava kava and St. John’s Wort.
d) Try CBT
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy attempts
to reprogramme the brain to block out
thoughts that are stopping sleep. Studies
have shown that this is a more effective
way of stopping chronic insomnia than
prescriptive medicine. You can either
i) find a therapist who practices CBT
ii) go on a course.
iii) get a book on it
iv) simply try doing it yourself
If you’d like to try it yourself then a very
simple form of CBT is the following:
As you are trying to get to sleep, repeat
to yourself over and over again in your
brain “the the the” at irregular intervals.
While you are doing this, the brain won’t
have chance to think about the things that
are stopping you sleep.
e) See the doctor
If none of the above work, then you
may want to see your doctor. He could
recommend that you go to a sleep
clinic or he may put you on prescription
sleeping tablets. These can be effective
but the side affects can be severe and
you should research these side affects
and weigh up the pros and cons of taking
the tablets.
 11
9. Take a nap during the day
If you are able to do this, you’ll feel much
better afterwards and it’ll re-invigorate you for
the rest of the day, much more than stimulants
like coffee can. About 15-30 mins is best.
There is some evidence that people who take
a short nap during the day lower the risk of
heart disease.

10. In the office don’t sit around for too

long
Take a walk to break things up. If you are
staring at a screen all day it is important to
take regular screen breaks even if it’s only to
get a drink or go to the bathroom.

11. Eat healthier

This will not only improve your health but
you’ll feel better for it. And you should lose
weight, which should make you feel better
physically and mentally.

a) Eat plenty of starchy foods

You should aim to eat one starchy food
with each main meal. Starchy foods include
potatoes, cereals, pasta, rice and bread. Eat
wholegrain varieties if you can because they
contain more fibre, and can make you feel
full for longer. Starchy foods should make up
around one third of the foods you eat.

b) Eat lots of fruit and veg

Try to eat at least five portions of different
types of fruit and veg a day, this is the
recommended amount. It can be easier than

it sounds, a glass of fruit juice (the
100% juice type) can count as one
portion, and vegetables cooked into
dishes also count. Attempt to swap
a mid-morning sugary snack for
some fruit.
c) Cut down on saturated fat
There are two main types of
fat, saturated and unsaturated.
Saturated fat is found in many foods,
such as cakes, biscuits, cream, butter,
pies and cheese. Too much saturated fat
can increase the amount of cholesterol
in the blood, which increases your risk of
developing heart disease. So try to cut
down on saturated fat, and choose foods
that contain unsaturated fats, such as
vegetable oils, oily fish and avocados.
Use reduced fat spread instead of butter,
and vegetable oil instead of lard. And
11
choose meat that is lean and cut off any fat.
d) Cut down on sugar.
Sugary foods and drinks, including alcoholic
drinks can cause a multitude of health
problems. Cut down on things that contain
added rather than natural sugars, such as
sugary fizzy drinks, alcoholic drinks, cakes,
biscuits and pastries, which contain added
sugars, Food labels can help: use them to
check how much sugar foods contain. More
than 15g of sugar per 100g means
that the food is high in sugar.

e) Eat less salt

Eating too much salt can raise your
blood pressure, and people with
high blood pressure are more likely
to develop heart disease or have
a stroke. Food labels can help you
to cut down,1.5g of salt per 100g
means the food is high in salt. It is
recommended that adults should eat
no more than 6g of salt a day.

f) Drink enough liquids

Just over a litre of fluid is needed
every day to stop us getting
dehydrated. If you are dehydrated,
it can give you headaches and
affect your mood. Water or other
unsweetened drinks are good, and
moderate amounts of tea and coffee
are fine.

g) Eat more fish

Fish is a good source of protein and
contains many vitamins and minerals.
Aim for at least two portions a week,
including at least one portion of oily
fish. Oily fish such as mackerel,
salmon, sardines, and fresh tuna are
high in omega-3 fats, which may help
to prevent heart disease. Canned and
smoked fish can be high in salt. If you
already eat lots of fish, try to eat as
wide a variety of fish as possible.
12

h) Don’t skip breakfast

A healthy breakfast is
important as it will set you
up for the day. Missing it to
lose weight will not work as
you’ll just be very hungry and
probably eat more later on.
Foods which release energy
slowly such as wholemeal
cereal or porridge are best.
Adding sliced fruit on top
makes it more tasty.

12. Don’t drink too much

alcohol.
Alcohol is high in calories
and too much can be bad for
your health, heavy drinking
can lead to liver disease.
And although drinking can
make you happy in the short
term it may make you feel
not so great the following
day. Moderation only is
recommended.
Matters of
the mind
Improving your mental condition
is a vital part of improving your
happiness, although it can be more
difficult to address these issues
than the physical improvements that
we looked at previously.
13 13. Stop thinking negatively, think positively,
Probably the most important step towards happiness. It’s very difficult to be
happy if you are thinking negatively about everything. Things to try are.

a) Count your blessings/smell the roses. At the end of every day, instead of
focusing on the bad things that have happened, think of all the good things and
the happiness they gave you. And think of all the people who are in a much
worse situation than you are.

b) Be proactive rather than reactive. If you have a problem, then instead of

letting it stress you out, focus on how to resolve it quickly and effectively. When
your mind is busy trying to find a solution, you stop feeling sorry for yourself and
start thinking positively.

c) Stop negative thoughts in their tracks. As you start feeling the negative
thoughts coming, make a conscious effort to stop them forming completely, try
and think of something else.

d) Keep busy. If you are sitting around thinking too much, it will allow negative
thoughts to come to the fore. So try to stay busy.

e) Think of others rather than yourself. When you do things, even the smallest
things, for other people you will feel good about yourself.

f) Exercise. As discussed previously, this will always help you feel more positive.

g) Relax. Have relaxation time and do whatever you feel like, and enjoy.

h) Have good relationships. Spend time with people who you care about and
who care about you. We will discuss this further in the next chapter.

i) Talk to people. Anytime you feel your problems hard to cope with, talk to a
friend or someone with a sympathetic ear. Even if they cannot do anything
to help you out, just the fact that you have someone on your side is uplifting
enough.
14. Improve your self-image
Bad self image can lead to you
sabotaging good things, subconsciously
thinking you don’t deserve a good
relationship or job and thereby
managing to wreck your chances. A 16
bad self-image can be caused by bad
early experiences, and unless changed
this belief will be reinforced further
throughout life.It is important to have a
healthy respect and self-love for yourself
to respect your wishes as well as those
around you, and to feel comfortable in
your own skin and with what you do.
Here’s some things to try if you have
problems with self-image:
14
a) Make a list of the things you like
about yourself.
15. Change negative patterns confident in your work but not in your
b) Stop your inner negative self-talk and These are the patterns you have settled love life.
instead introduce positive supportive into that might not be good for you.
self-talk. c) The third stage is to replace the
a) The first stage is to recognise whether bad patterns with good ones. This is
c) Don’t compare yourself to others. you have a problem with this. If you feel the most difficult part and you’ll find it
Accept who you are. that you have a problem, then it’s time to hard to block out a negative thought.
take action. If you change your thought So instead of trying to do this what you
d) Try to change the things you don’t patterns, you can change the way you should try doing is replace the negative
like about yourself. If you think you are see things. thought with a positive thought. So if the
too fat then lose weight, if you don’t like thought comes into your head “I’m so
the way you dress, then change that. b) The second stage is to be aware of stupid” don’t think “I’m not stupid”, that
when you are using destructive thinking won’t work. Instead redirect the thought
e) Don’t hang out with people who put patterns. Sometimes you will have in your head to “I’m pretty clever really”.
you down, avoid those who point out negative patterns in some areas of life After doing this over a period of time the
your flaws. but not others: for example you might be old patterns should die out slowly.
 16
16 Maintain a good support system
People with a good support system
are more successful at overcoming
depression, maintaining self-esteem and
overcoming loneliness.
There’s also evidence that people
boasting a good support system are likely
to have fewer health complaints.
17 Realistic appraisals of life’s
problems
Coping effectively with life’s problems
and failures requires realistic
expectations. Life events aren’t a
problem unless we see them as being
so. Life is never perfect and, to some
degree, hassles and problems are a part
of normal everyday life. If our appraisals
are realistic, we’re better able to react
to day-to-day life events with a sense of
proportion.
The appraisals we make are a
product of our belief system. If we
hold unrealistic, inflexible beliefs then
our appraisals may not be the most
appropriate for the situation.
18. Deal successfully with challenges
Here are three techniques that may
help you cope with challenges more
effectively:
a) Get ready for the challenge. Think of
how you’ll cope and even if you know it
will be stressful think about what you’ll
gain from the experience.
b) Take on the challenge. Talk yourself
through it by giving yourself positive self-
talk.
c). Look back at what you’ve learned.
Think about what happened, look at how
you can improve, but don’t be too self-
critical.
19. Step outside your comfort zone,
It will give you confidence and make you
feel better about yourself.
20. See hard times as a valuable
learning experience
22
21. Find good role models
Spend time with positive people who
you can learn from

22 Listen to motivational CDs.

23. Walk, talk and think like the

person who you want to be.
Eventually you will hopefully become
that person.

24 Try Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

CBT is designed to change how your
mind perceives events and to help you
feel better when you encounter that
situation in the future.

CBT generally involves noting important

events and the feelings that they cause.
Then it questions and challenges any
reactions that are not helpful for a
person’s happiness and tries to install
new ways of behaving and reacting to
such events.

CBT can be a long process but is one of

the most successful ways of improving
the way people think.

It’s generally most effective done as a

course but you can also get books on it.
25 Try Neuro-Lingustic
Programming
Neuro Lingustic Programming
is also designed to change how
your mind perceives events
and to help you respond to
these events in a better way,
but does this more by looking
into the unconscious mind to
try and change how your mind
works. It uses techniques such
as anchoring (using a physical
action to trigger thoughts of
a previous positive event) to
improve your reaction to events.
You can get books on it here.

26 Read self-help books

Books can be an important way
to help sort out problems. There
are books for just about every
problem there is, see some of the
best ones here.

27 Make affirmations
This is basically repeating
positive things to yourself, such
as “I am great at my job” or “I am
an attractive and lovely person”.
For an affirmation to be effective,
it needs to be in the present
tense, positive, personal and
specific. It’s amazing how it really
can work, but you’ll probably
need to keep on doing it for the
effect to last.
28 Do Visualization
This is picturing yourself
in the situation where
you want to be, either
in a job you want to
be in, or the type of
relationship you’d like
to be in. Just picturing it
will make it more likely
to come true.

29 Go to the doctor
If you are very
depressed and feel
that you are not able
to do anything to
improve the situation,
then consider going to
the doctor. They may
well recommend anti-
depressants. These
may cause side effects
which it would be best
to look into.

30 See a counsellor or
therapist
In addition, or
alternatively, you could
go to a counsellor
or a therapist. There
are many different
types of therapy and
it is important to find
the right therapist or
counsellor for you.
Relationships

Relationships are one of the most

important things that make people
happy, so it is important to work
on this area as much as you can.
 34
31 Have a good partner.
A good relationship should make
you much happier. And according to
evidence, make you live longer. But
if you’re not with the right partner
however, happiness levels will
plummet.

32 How to find that partner

If you haven’t got a partner, there
are many ways to go about finding
one:
a) Make the effort to go to as many
social situations as you can, parties,
pubs or clubs.

b) Do activities you enjoy. If you

meet someone who likes doing the
same kind of things as you, that is
hopefully a good start.
c) Ask friends if they know anyone
who might be right for you.
d) Try a dating website. This is now
the number one way to meet a
partner. It cuts out the effort needed
to be going out doing things to meet
someone but will still require quite
a lot of work e-mailing suitable
matches and then going on dates
with them. Don’t give up if it doesn’t
work straight away, as it can take
time to meet the right person.
33. Be careful about going out
with someone from work
Many people do meet at work but if
things go wrong it can be horrible still
having to see them every day. And
do you really want to see someone
all day and in the evening? Time
apart is often a good thing.
34. If you are in a relationship,
make the effort to make things
work well
a) Communicate well,
b) Listen to what each other has to
say.
c) Make your partner feel special
d) Be honest with your partner.
Honesty is the best policy, you’ll
probably get caught out eventually
anyway. And even if you don’t you
won’t feel great about yourself.
But not too honest, little white lies
may be ok if it’ll mean hurting your
partner’s feelings otherwise.
35. Have plenty of sex
a) It will bring you closer to your
partner.
b) It should bring a great deal of
pleasure.
c) It’s great exercise!
Some tips!
36. Think about
having children
If you have a long-
term partner, then
at some point you’ll
probably talk about
whether to have
children. Children
can be a cause of
great happiness, but
also great stress and
difficulties, especially
in the younger years.
And also when they
become teenagers!

37. Try to spend

as much time with
your children as
you can
Fathers in particular
may not do this,
being too busy at

36
the office and many
regret it later.
38. How to survive a
break-up
If you’ve had a break up
try to:

a) Tackle it one small step

at a time.

b) Talk to people about it.

c) Try to keep busy.

d) Read self-help books

about the subject, you can
find some here.

39. Let go of things

Let go of old lovers, and
bad friends. You will then
let in the chance for new
lovers and friends.
 40

40. Keep in touch with your

friends
Friends provide an invaluable
source of happiness, offering
support and fun, so meet up with
them as often as you can. Social
networking on Facebook can be
great for seeing what your friends
are up to, but nothing beats meeting
in person.

41. Get in touch with old friends

It’s good to reminisce about the
old times and catch up with what
they’ve been up to. If you’ve lost
touch you could try and find them
on Facebook or Friends Reunited.
Beware if thinking of getting
in touch with old girlfriends or
boyfriends!
42. Make new friends
You could do this by joining
new clubs and societies. Or find
something you’re interested in on
the website Meetup.
43. Form relationships with people
who treat you well
And give up on those who do not, they
will drag you down and make you feel
worse about yourself.
44. Dealing with the boss
If you are having trouble with the boss,
try to talk to them about it. But if they
won’t listen, there’s not too much else
you can do, the bosses above them
will rarely listen to you, bosses tend to
stick together. Even if you’re in the right,
unless you want many years of hassle it is
probably best just to find a happier place
to work.
45. Try to get on with your work
colleagues
You may be sat next to someone you
think you have nothing in common with,
but a wall of silence every day is not going
to help your happiness, there’s usually
some common ground you can find.
46. Forgive people
for things
Otherwise you just
put yourself through
extra mental anguish
and the person you
are angry towards is
probably fine.

47. Stand up to
people
If you stand up to
people who are not
treating you well and
show you can’t be
pushed around, then
people will usually
respect that and
behave better towards
you.

48. Do something
for someone else to
help them
If you help someone
out, then both you
and they will feel
better.
48
The Future
It’s very important for your
happiness to think about
the future and any changes
you need to make
 50
49. Have a plan
It is very important to have a plan about where you want to
get to and what you want to do in life. It doesn’t matter so
much what the plan is but you will be happier if you have
one. It will provide life with structure, a map.

And if you have a plan and you start carrying it out then you
will also be on a journey, and on this journey you will learn
new things, meet new people and have new experiences, all
of which will hopefully improve your happiness.

50. Write your goals down

You need goals so you know where you are heading. Write
them down so it clarifies your thinking. Break it down into
long-term goals and short-term goals and how you will
achieve each of them.

51. Be flexible
If things aren’t working out, then alter your plans, adapt and
improve them.

52. Enjoy the journey

Decide to be happy on your journey, don’t postpone it until
you get there.

53. Read books on success

Both general books on success and how to succeed in the
area you have chosen. You can find some here.

54. Don’t wait around for things to happen

Rather than waiting, get on with other things.

55. Be prepared to fail

If you want to succeed at something, then be prepared
to fail at it first, most successful people have had many
failures.
 56. Learn from those mistakes.
57 Look at what went wrong and analyse how
you can improve things in the future.

57. Work hard

The harder you work, the better your
chances of success are. So practise
something incessantly. The people who
become overnight successes at something
have generally been slogging away at it for
years.

58. Get Lucky

Luck is where opportunity and preparation
meet, so be prepared and look for
opportunities! The harder you work the
luckier you will get.

59. Take risks

You’ll need to take some degree of risk to
achieve something.

60. Be determined
Persistence and determination are what
decides who will be successful at something,
much more so than talent. Of course the
latter helps as well.

61. Cope with handicaps

Handicaps can be a blessing and make you
more determined, if you choose to see it that
way

62. Hang in
Hang on in there, the darkest hour is just
before dawn!
The Present
It’s all very well planning to improve
happiness in the future but what
about right now? Here are some
steps you can take to improving your
happiness on a day-to-day basis.
 63. Do a job that you love
It’s not always easy but as it’s
something you will probably
spend more of your life
doing than anything else, it’s
important to do as much as you
can to try and find a job that
you enjoy.

64. Find out what your ideal

job is
If you’re not sure what you
want to do then you have
to work it out – good books
to read are Build your own
Rainbow or What Color is your
Parachute. Or go to see a
careers consultant.

65. If you hate your job,

change it
There’s no point spending time
in a job you hate so unless you
absolutely have to stick at it
then change to something else.

66. Do voluntary work

There may be no monetary
awards, but the feeling of
satisfaction can be massive.
You could work with young
people or help out old people,
66 or work for a cause that you
support.
67. Keep moving and
changing
If you stay doing the
same things, you’ll
get bored and end up
unhappy.

68. Keep busy

If you are having a bad
time, do something, take
up a hobby, go for a run -
just do something, taking
action will help.

69. Enjoy nature

Spend time outdoors
enjoying nature, in your
garden or at the local
park. Or go for walks
by the seaside or in the
country.

70 Act like a child

Acting like a child
sometimes can be great
for the spirit. You can be
spontaneous, curious,
imaginative, accepting,
and just go with the flow.

71. Laugh with friends

Laughter is one of the
best tonics for making
you feel better so meet
up with fun friends
69
whenever you can.
72. Watch funny films or TV comedies
Watching comedies on TV, or funny films,
can be great for lifting your mood. Go to the
Happy Hut for a list of some of the funniest
films, TV shows and best comedians of all
time.

73. Bring nature inside

Put plants or flowers in your house or in
your office.

74. Take up gardening

It can be very rewarding to grow your own
flowers and vegetables. The exercise is
also very good for you. You can get some
good advice for starting off here.

75. Do creative things

Creativity is a great source of happiness,
you could learn to play an instrument or
paint or write poems.

76. Listen to music

Music is a great mood changer. In
particular some rousing music can really
help. Rousing classical music such as Ride
of the Valkyries may help or some pumping
dance music, or pop or rock music. For
some of the greatest happy songs of all
time visit here.

77. Visit new places in your local area.

Try to find new places of interest.
78. Take plenty of
holidays
If you can afford to go
away, just being in a new
place can be a great mood
lifter and on many holidays
you will get the chance
to see and experience
many new and interesting
things. Or if you prefer a
more relaxing holiday, the
chance to unwind should
make you happier. You
can get plenty of ideas on
amazing places to go from
books.

79. Take photographs

With digital cameras you
can easily take some
fantastic photos. And
they capture some great
memories. You can even
just use your phone to take
them.There are plenty of
books to guide you.

87
80. Read some great books
They will hopefully interest and
inspire you.
81. Make lists
Lists keep you on track, and give
structure to your day and your life
82. Relax
Life is so stressful that it’s important
to have time to relax. Another benefit
is that great ideas can come in bed or
in the shower because you are feeling
more relaxed and the brain goes into a
different way of thinking.
83. Think about getting a pet
They act as a stress reliever and can
provide a lot of love, pleasure and
amusement. As can be seen from their
popularity, dogs and cats are particularly
good.
84. Join a group
You could try joining a group of people
who meet on a regular basis, such as a
choir or drama group. It’s good to feel
part of the group, and you’ll meet new
people and do new things
85. Start an evening course
Try studying something you’ve always
been interested in doing, it’ll stretch you
intellectually, and hopefully be interesting
and fun.
86. Ask people for what you want.
It cuts out your frustration about
something and it makes someone else
feel better to give, so it’s a win-win
situation.
87. Practise things in your mind
before you do them
If you practise things in your mind
before doing them then the brain is
programmed to do what you want better.
This is a great tip to use before doing
public speaking or making a difficult
phone call.
 89

88. Have a belief system

It doesn’t matter what you
believe in. It could be a
religious faith or it could be a
belief that we’re all in a huge
experiment created by aliens.
But whatever it is can support
you in times of trouble, and
answer questions about what
life is all about.

89. Have a political vision

And try to do something to
make that vision more of
a reality. You could join an
organisation or a charity that
helps put into practice what you
believe in.

90. Deal with problems

One way of dealing with a
difficult problem is to imagine
how you will feel about that
problem next week, next
month, next year. Then try to
bring those feelings into the
present. It will give you a sense
of perspective. Problems rarely
look so bad in retrospect.
 91. Sort your finances out
Becoming very rich is not
necessarily going to make
you happy but being poor
and having to worry about
money certainly can reduce
your happiness. So here’s
some ideas on how not to
end up being poor.

92. Save first and spend

what is left later.
Unless you’re on a very
low income, in which case
it might not be possible, try
to put away some money
each month before you start
spending any, you could set
up a direct debit to go from
your bank account into a
savings account

93. Don’t borrow more

than you can afford to pay
back
Not being able to pay money
back and getting into debt
is a miserable experience. If
you take out a mortgage that
is not fixed, make sure you
91 have enough to cover an
increase in payments.

96
94. Paying bills by direct debit
Paying bills is time-consuming and
boring so try and do it all by direct debit
online. You’ll also often get a discount
for doing this. But keep on eye on the
company increasing prices and switch
if necessary.
95. Do research before buying
consumer goods
Look at online reviews before buying
anything, you don’t want to end up
with a dud. Look at price comparison
websites. It’s often false economy
going with a cheap brand for consumer
goods. In supermarkets think about
buying own-brand goods to save
money you can spend on something
else.
96. Don’t go crazy with your credit
card.
It is most useful as a convenient way
to pay for things. If you use it as a
way of borrowing on a long-term basis
you’ll end up paying a huge amount
of interest, and get into debt. That
certainly won’t make you happy.
97. If you want to be rich
Observe the habits of wealthy people.
Read books that they have written or
95
about how to become rich. In most
case you’ll find that to become very rich
you are usually going to have to work
very long hours or take big risks.
98. Buying lots of things may not
lead to happiness
Material things don’t generally make
people happy in the long-term. It might
give you an instant hit, but that will
wear off very quickly and you’ll need
another one. If you can’t afford the
constant spending you might get in
serious financial trouble, which could
cause a lot of debt of stress and that
certainly won’t make you happy.
 99
99. Plan your
retirement.
Boring, but you don’t
want to end up old
and broke. You could
either open up a low-
cost pension scheme or
invest in stock market via
shares or unit trusts. All
can be risky and in the
short-term could go down
in value but in the long
term history says they
should increase enough
to give you a good return
on your investment.
You could just save in
a high-interest account
but unless you save a
lot, it’s unlikely to make
the amount needed for a
comfortable retirement.

100. Give regularly to a

charity.
It’ll be good for the
charity and the world,
and good for you, as
you’ll feel better about
yourself.
Conclusion
Happiness is unlikely
to be something
that will be achieved
overnight. It’s a
journey that involves
lots of different areas
and putting in place
different patterns to try
and become happier.
Even then you may
not feel happy all the
time. But hopefully
by putting into action
some of the ideas in
this book, your levels
of happiness will
increase greatly.
Thanks and good luck!

You can let us know your thoughts

on the book by e-mailing:

info@the-happy-hut.com

The

Picture credits
Happy Heads
Front Cover: Cindi Matthews
P2 Wonder Lane eve
p10 Daniel Jordahl
p19 Big Mind Centre The
p30 Dennis Lapets
p34 Daniel Wehner Happy Hut Ide

p50 Bowen Murphy

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