1. The Big “O” – Oxytocin: This is the hormone of trust and “love.” It is a natural calming and feel good chemical. It connects and bonds people together and when released will evoke feelings of contentment, reductions in anxiety, and feelings of calmness and security. Simply touching, hugging, and interacting with loved ones can release Oxytocin and enhance intimacy.
2. Get Moving and Exercise: A proven way to enhance mood is to stay active and exercise. We have to move to be happy. Even a brisk walk can do wonders for our outlook and daily mood. When adults have around 30 minutes of moderately intense physical activity per day it has been shown to be an important factor in not only physical health, but psychological well-being as well.
3. Breathe Well: An often overlooked source of calm and health is deep breathing. Our breath is always with us and can be used as an anchor to relax our mind and body. Becoming mindful of our breath can be a tool to manage stress and anxiety in any context. Start taking deeper, longer breaths to get more oxygen flowing through your brain.
4. Gratitude: We all have ups and downs each day, though when we focus on and what we still have and what is going well our mood will be enhanced. Start appreciating what you have and be thankful for the relationships, skills, and opportunities that you have been blessed with. To help you do so, keep a gratitude journal or write a letter of gratitude to someone who has helped you but hasn’t been thanked yet.
5. Meditation: Many many late researches in brain science shows that a daily practice of meditation increases creativity, intuition, health (by lowering blood pressure and slow breathing) and happiness. It also makes one become calm, laugh a lot, Love and naturally look at the positive side of everything. All those things are seen as major brain changes that are taking place in the time of practicing.
LOVE All.
Your Life. BETTER. 
Cheryl – I love the 5 things that can be used to increase your happiness. Another one that I have found is to find beauty in at least one thing a day. If you are self-absorbed with everything you have to do that day, you forget about beauty any day can bring. Being so tied up with those “lists” causes your eyes to close and not see a childs first walk, a cloud that looks like a vintage car. The birth of a new tulip for his grand opening or the lush grass under your feet. For me, this is one of the key elements I must use in order to have a happy and fulfilling life.
Beautiful 🙂
Beautiful post! All the best.
This is is a most perfect way to start such a site! I so often forget about step 5, even though I’m well aware of it, and have always–sometimes more off than on, sometimes more on than off–made a practice of it. You have my thanks for the gentle reminder, and, as well, for your visit to my humble site!
I love the #1 and also #4 🙂
I think so many people forget step 4. I know I do. So thanks for reminding me again. I had a bad start to my day today but reading through that particular step made me stop and think. It’s amazing what can be accomplished by just reading just a few lines.