Happiness is an Inside Job — How to Stay Happy in Tough Times?

Tried and tested tips to bring joy in your life.

Non-members can read the full article here.

Your life is a pendulum that swings between two extremes.

You might cry with joy at one moment, and the next moment, you might be depressed for an unknown reason.

Life is a constant struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, work and home, birth, and death. But the good news is that you have control over your life.

Unhappiness is when the picture in your mind doesn't match the picture in front of you. It’s a mind game that we all are playing every single day.

Maybe you’re going through hard times that you cannot express. Or perhaps you’ve gone through it earlier in life. Whatever the case, I am writing those blogs to make you feel better, to give you hope, and to make you a bit better than yesterday.

Gratitude kills the bad vibes

I am a firm believer that thoughts become things. If you don’t think your thoughts impact your life, you live in a fairytale. Soon you’ll wake up from the dream and face the game called life.

Every day, I wake up with a list of things I am grateful for. This puts me in a winning state. I can conquer whatever life sends to me.

Being grateful gives you the power, the hope, that the battle of life is not over, and until the last blood in your body, you’re still fighting.

Being grateful is the most fantastic superpower you can have.

Praise Thy GOD

In Islam, we are taught to appreciate the little things in life.

Everything is created by GOD, so when you appreciate a cup of coffee or feel the sound of rain, you’re enjoying the CREATOR.

Rise your level by appreciating and being happy for your fellow humans. If a co-worker did a fantastic job, get up and applaud them and thank GOD for such a co-worker. If your mother made delicious food (my Mom does it daily!!), thank her and say a little prayer to GOD for her long and healthy life.

Whether it is the successful closure of a new project or a promotion of your loved one, appreciate them and say a little prayer for that person.

Praising GOD makes you happy, and you get more from GOD in return.

Stop living your life in days and start living it in moments

Imagine your doctor informing you that you have one day to live. Would you consider it as a day or 24 hours?

I am sure you will measure the day with the number of hours.

The same goes for your life. Indeed, you have limited days, but to live it fully, you need to embrace every single moment.

Instead of waiting for bad days to pass, focus on the moment. Take these tiny moments and find whatever good you can in those moments. Forget the ones that made you cry. More than 90% of the problems you have today will mean nothing in the next five years, so relax.

Visualize the good times

My proudest moment was when I offered my first salary to my mother. The feeling still gives me goosebumps. But whenever I feel down, I close my eyes and relive that moment.

Visualization is an amazing technique that gives you the power to take over your thoughts. Close your eyes and make a mental picture of your past moment when you’re praised or you felt the happiest.

You can even use it in the future. Think of your dream coming to life. For me, it’s becoming a best-selling author one day and receiving tons of reviews on how my writing changed the lives of people I hardly know.

Imagine a life you want to live. Dream it, feel it, and soon you’ll be living that life.

End the day with no regrets

You’ll die soon. So, stop crying and get back to work.

• If you’re doing a job you hate, quit it.
• If you’re living among toxic people, change your company.
• If your friends have small ambitions, I suggest making some new friends.
• Don’t wait for tomorrow; execute it if you have a business plan.
• If you love someone, express your love.

Life is too short to end with regrets.

“You got a dream you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves they tell you, you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it, period.” — Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness

If you love reading blogs, get the $5 Medium membership for a month and read unlimited articles.

And you can subscribe to the email list, where you’ll get instant updates when I hit the publish button.