Maximize Happiness

[Steelheart]

I’m trying to figure out how to maximize my happiness. I’ve found maintaining my health and being social are the main two ingredients. Does anyone have any other practical suggestions that has worked for them? 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Steelheart

[kinesin]

@Steelheart Meditate every day.  Use writing as a thinking tool at least 2 or 3 times a week.  Spend time with your family.  Practice gratitude.  Be out in nature, observe your surroundings, look at the birds and the clouds.  Accept the appearance of difficulties when they arise, and don't hesitate for too long in doing what is required to deal with them.  Don't have too many friends, a handful is more than enough.  Don't stretch your time too thin.  Don't knowingly do things which will contribute to misery in the future.  Make your living space look nice.  Learn to cook good food, and share it with others.  Play around, sing and dance.

Most importantly, allow yourself to be unhappy if you're unhappy.  A constant state of happiness isn't realistic or even preferable, pain and suffering is part of life and just as much (if not more) value comes from it than from happiness.

[Steelheart]

@kinesin very nice. I like the one about the living space to look nice. Never really thought about that one. 
 

Do you have some examples of doing things that will make the future miserable? 

[kinesin]

@Steelheart I suppose some of the more common manifestations of that would be failing to accept and deal with difficulties and issues as they arise.  Remaining ignorant of them, in denial or simply telling ourselves that we’ll get around to it ‘one day’.  Problems grow over time when we don’t address them, and many people (possibly most) allow problems to grow far too big until they become all-encompassing, and only then do they seek to try chipping away at them.  By that time the problem has often become too big to put right.