According to scientific research from Harvard, happier people live longer and with better standards of living regardless of income group, race, religion or ethnicity. From, heart disease and alzheimer’s, to cancer and diabetes, happier people just suffer less from them. Personally I am a very happy and cheerful person and I would like to share you my tips which I added some more from other articles online that talk about the same thing.

1. You Are In Charge of Your Own Happiness

You have the power to decide whether to be happy or not. Your inner voice will let you know what to do to be happy.

2. Happy People Never See The Glass Half Empty

If you see the glass half empty, you are very pessimistic and will probably end up alone, miserable and sick. Like in number 1, you have the choice to see the glass half full, be optimistic my friend!

3. Nurture Social Relationship

Happy people are friendly, caring and loving, not only to family but also friends as well as frenemies. Say hi to your gateman, in Kiswahili, preferably sheng or his/her mother tongue, treat him like you would treat your boss, with respect and honor, you might be surprised how great that will make you both feel, and who knows, the gateman might help you when you have a flat tyre or need a favor.

4. Patience

Patience is one of the best virtues to have and it will definitely increase your happiness. Be it that career move you have been contemplating for a long time, or it might be a start up business that is yet to take off, patience will keep your mind focused and you will never get weary.

5. Intuition

As a chef, I always cook with my instinct, especially foods that you can’t taste to know their doneness or whether the seasoning is correct; I just follow what my gut says and 9.9 out of 10 times, it comes out perfectly. This is my mantra with life, I listen to my heart, not mind and it helps me make the best decisions possible.

6. Karma

“It is in giving that we receive”, The Holy Saint Francis of Asisi. What goes around comes around so do good and good shall fall upon your path and vice versa. Happy people also give a lot to the needy, selflessly of course, most of the time you will not even know it when they give to the poor, it will not be televised not would a giant cheque be printed, it comes from the heart.

7. Crisis = Opportunitychinese

In Chinese language, the word crisis comprises of two brush strokes (characters in Mandarin), one meaning danger and the other meaning opportunity. Happy people see crisis as a time for opportunity, unhappy see danger, more or less like the glass half full/empty conundrum. Think of the Nairobi based hawker who sells tshirts and vests during the summer and switches to umbrellas once the sky open. He could have just given up and seek shelter from the rains but instead he sees the opportunity that many would say was danger.

8. Let Go

Happy people can let go off even the most emotional problems, at the drop of a hat. Life is too short to be stressing yourself with regret, just let go of the things that you do not have control of, and slowly you will start feeling much happier, more content.

If it is bad relationship that hurt you very much, learn to let go, you are much better off without that person anyway if they could not see how awesome you are, because you are indeed awesomely and wonderfully made.

If it is a job/business deal that did not work out just let go, now, leave it all behind, why? because nobody needs emotional baggage which is very heavy.

9. Eat Well & Exercise

All the above do not matter if you eat from packets and do not move around as you need to. Eating well must not be extreme; you can just start with a few meals here and there; More beans instead of the factory farmed meat, more kienyeji (free range) chicken instead of GMO chicken, more fruits instead of candy, more veggies instead of pizza, more honey instead of refined sugar, and more water instead of soda and you are off to a great start. Soon you will be cooking exclusively with coconut oil and snacking on homemade cookies and having fun while at it.

To become fit you do not need a gym membership, just good walking shoes (important to maintain healthy legs) and a little bit of time. You can start with a 10 minute one-way walk and build up from that. I nowadays exercise 3 times a day because of the feel-good hormones, the feeling is just too good, I could exercise all day. I jog for 3 KM in the morning, walks for 4 KM in the evening and throw in some strength training, yoga and meditation in between or afterwards. You don’t have to do it like me, as they say, am in a league of my own, just giving you an example 🙂