How can I become happier?

Psychologists say to feel happier, you must prime your body and mind for joy. Try these tips:

Find a rewarding activity: Aim for a state of flow, when you lose track of time because you're in a state of satisfaction.

Appreciate small things: Keep a daily log of positive things that happen in your day or a journal of the things for which you're thankful.

Stay mindful of the present: Don't worry about the future. Approach problems as temporary, solvable situations. Build social networks: Bonds with friends and family maintain happiness. Even connections with strangers, such as holding doors and saying, "Thank you" can help.

Exercise: Exercising reduces the body's level of stress hormone cortisol and increases positive endorphins.

Research is beginning to show us these four roots create true happiness and health at a very key level of our existence. The four roots -- Serenity, Exercise, Love and Food (or S.E.L.F.) -- have an essential effect on our chemical processes of the body. For example, something as simple as taking a warm shower or going for a walk for a few minutes increases the production of serotonin in the body. This is also true for participating in a group of some kind, such as playing cards, joining a book club, or meeting with a friend. Similar serotonin increases occur when you eat carbohydrates during your busy day. The key to living a life of balance and experiencing true happiness is for you to begin to make informed choices about your lifestyle. When you choose to live an intentional life of true happiness, you will enjoy learning how nourishing these four roots can bring you a dynamic life of balance.

According to the founding father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, a happy life is one that is pleasurable, engaging, and meaningful. Seligman suggests that people who focus their energies on leading an engaged and meaningful life are more successful at achieving lifelong happiness than those who focus on the transitory feel-goods of pleasure.

Spend more time doing what you love. Engaging in activities that are in line with your values and interests can improve your sense of well-being. If you feel as though you've lost touch with what those activities might be, think about what captivates you so entirely that you lose yourself in the moment and forget about your stress. It's likely to be something you're good at that also provides you with a bit of a challenge or some kind of emotional reward. Some examples might be gardening, writing, painting, surfing, cycling, volunteering, or playing a musical instrument.

If you can make your activities social, all the better. Whereas personal hobbies, such as knitting, have been linked to an increase in happiness, social activities have been associated with an increase in both happiness and life expectancy.

As you focus on bringing meaning to your life, be sure to set realistic, attainable goals. Here are three more ways to get happy:

1. Forget the Joneses. Social comparison is a natural part of human behavior, and it can be a healthy source of both motivation and affirmation. But taken to the extreme, social comparison can become an unhealthy, unhappy competition. It can be especially harmful if you are making material comparisons.
2. Share Your Skills. Giving back to the community and helping others is linked to greater levels of happiness, particularly for people who are retired or not employed.
3. Do Your Happiness Homework. Seligman and his happiness colleagues have devised and tested a number of exercises to help boost well-being. Here are several activities that have been found to be most effective:

• Take note of what's good in your life. Studies show that people who spend a few minutes every evening writing down what went well each day show a significant increase in well-being.
• Tone up your signature strengths. Signature strengths are the things you're really good at. Try using one of them in a new way every day for a week.
• Give gratitude. Write a letter of thanks to someone who has been particularly good to you or has had a profound impact on your life.

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