5 Ways To Find Happiness and Increase Your Longevity

The road to happiness is easy if you know your pathway

We all strive to be happy and healthy every single moment of our lives.

Our general lifestyle, things that we do every day, and the habits we cultivate, can affect our lives, and either promote happiness and increase our longevity or do the opposite.

Here are 5 things that can maximize your happiness and increase your longevity:

Living a healthy lifestyle

To feel happy and live longer, you need to live a healthy lifestyle. That means that you engage in healthy habits and stay away from bad habits.

What’s healthy vs unhealthy is relative, but there is a common consensus in medical research as to what is healthy and what is not.

Habits that can ruin your health are drinking alcohol, smoking, eating unhealthy foods, lack of adequate sleep, and leading a sedentary lifestyle. On the other hand, eating healthy foods combined with an active lifestyle will promote your longevity.

Having an optimistic outlook on life

New evidence from research suggests that optimistic people live longer compared to pessimistic people. They attribute it to the fact that they endure less stress, hence they have less likelihood of chronic diseases, and go through a healthy aging process.

If you are a pessimistic person, then you will only see the negative aspects of life and overlook the positive. On the other hand, if you are generally an optimistic person, you will smile more often and learn to stay positive in life even when bad things happen. Overall, you’ll have more satisfaction in life by being positive. So be positive and you will live longer.

Having a supportive social network

Research shows that people with a strong social network can live up to 50% longer. People who are socially isolated and lack a supportive network can be at risk for depression.

Having people around you with whom you can share your problems in life or emotional struggles is crucial. With that said, it’s better to surround yourself with a few close people who you know can be there for you to support you during bad times.

Even more important is for you to have one or two very close friends with whom you can share your experiences on an intimate level. Research points out that having only 3 close ties is sufficient to increase your life span by up to 200%. Your supportive network can also be your close family members.

Doing what you are passionate about

Often we get unhappy and depressed because we don’t do things in life that we like. You may be stuck and still not have found what you want to do.

Finding your true passion is the key to happiness. When you pursue what you love the most, you add zest to your life. You live your life with a purpose, and ultimately, that’s what will make your life happy. And of course, once you’ve found your happiness, you become emotionally fulfilled. You will feel less stressed and enjoy your life to the fullest.

For example, music has always been my passion and it’s been something that propelled me through this life. To achieve mastery of my instrument, I had to put in work and practice every day. Even though my work was hard and required commitment, I was very passionate about what I did and it brought me tremendous joy.

On the other hand, people often work and do things they aren’t passionate about just for the sake of money. When you force yourself to do things you aren’t passionate about, your life will become dull and boring. You will lose yourself, and you won’t enjoy your life to the fullest. You will ignore your needs, and start showing signs of premature aging.

For example, working at a job that you hate but brings you plenty of money can give you a temporary fix, but ultimately you should find something that satisfies your financial as well as emotional needs.

The bottom line — find a passion that will bring you both money and happiness, but your happiness should always come first.

Loving yourself

You should always learn to love yourself through good or bad, and no matter how people look at you. To love yourself, you need to feel happy about what you do, and that ties with knowing your passion. It also means that you realize that your happiness comes from you and not from other people. How you choose to feel is up to you to decide.

Loving yourself also means that you pay attention to your needs. It means you know how to engage in healthy self-care practices and take care of your mind and body. Self-care should be a part of your balanced and happy life. It is essential for your mental well-being.

That means putting aside time for your self-care needs, such as meditation, yoga, nature walk, healing bath, or whatever you find fitting.

The more you learn to love yourself, the happier you will be as a person. Hence, your life satisfaction will increase, and you will live a longer and less stressful life.

Kristina Segarra is a classically trained musician, freelance writer, and copy editor/proofreader. She received her B.A. in Music and minor in Psychology from CCNY, Hunter College in New York City. She likes to write on world topics, psychology, health, fitness, and lifestyle.

You can find more information about her on LinkedIn and Twitter.