How To Find What Makes You Happy

Part of the reason happiness often feels so elusive is that we don’t spend time really focusing on what we need in order to cultivate that happiness. When we’re bogged down at work or flustered with unsuccessful attempts, more often than not we mostly just wallow in those feelings of frustration and hopelessness, rather than taking a moment to question what needs to change.

Change that. Take the time to explore what you really need to make yourself happy. Beyond facilitating a lighter experience traveling through life, happiness leads to increased productivity, more engagement with work, and richercreativity.

Over on Thought Catalog, Ko Im offers a series of prompts to help you discover patterns that point to how to do more of what makes you feel happy. A few favorites:

What is the best thing that happened to me? This not only brings back fond memories but also shows implicit gratitude. It also shows your scope – is it a specific event or an overall “I’m grateful to be alive!”

What are five things I like about me? Yup, shower yourself with compliments.

How are three ways others would describe me? These adjectives could be good or bad. Perception vs. reality, the point is to be self-aware and therefore confident.

Finish this sentence: My dream is… Don’t be afraid to write it down, say it out loud, shout it from a rooftop! What would you do if no one else was reading, watching or listening?

By considering open-ended questions related to what makes you feel upbeat, fulfilled, and inspired, the wheat will start to separate from the chaff.

But what does happiness really even mean? Is it contentment, fulfillment, passion, joy, or some combination therein? The truth is, it’s whatever it means to you, and as such, the way to get there is to discern what things and actions generate those feelings and state of being for you. The best place to start is by carving out time for reflection, using cues like the above.