Barbara sat down, exhausted at the end of her seemingly endless day. She didn’t even have enough energy to think about all the hectic, trying things she went through – not to mention the depressing story she saw on the news this morning that seemed to throw her day off from the start.

As she sat there, tired and hardened from work, kids, the news, and all the other items on her never-ending to-do list, she thought to herself, “How am I supposed to have time to be happy when my life is so busy and packed with stress? I barely have time to breathe!”

Like Barbara, many people find themselves spread too thin. Day in and day out, they find themselves taking on more and more. Whether it’s work, kids, family, errands, cooking, cleaning, social events, or a chaotic combination of these, it seems as if stress is simply unavoidable.

And with all the stress, how are you supposed to find any time to be happy?

It may seem difficult and sometimes even downright impossible, but you can be happy exactly where you are right now. You don’t have to wait for things to be perfect (because they never will be), and you don’t have to completely uproot or alter your life.

You can be happy today by following these 5 simple ways to increase your happiness immediately.

5 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR HAPPINESS IMMEDIATELY

1. MAKE THE CHOICE

Every day when you wake up, you have a conscious choice to make. You can choose to be happy and to find the good in every situation, or you can choose to let life get the best of you and end up stressed, angry, and unhappy.

Make the choice to take care of yourself! Women often associate self-care with selfishness, but that is not what it is.

Self-care is essential to becoming a healthier, happier you, and without it, all your other responsibilities would suffer. It’s necessary to take care of yourself so you can, in turn, take care of others.

Make the choice not to sweat the small stuff. So your kitchen is a little messy today, your kids’ toys are all over the floor, or you were 10 minutes late dropping your kids off at school this morning.

In the grand scheme of things, none of those things matter! Let them go, and get on with your day. You’ll be amazed at how your mood changes in a positive way when you aren’t wasting time fixating on and worrying about those insignificant items.

2. AFFIRMATIONS

Reinforce your decision to choose to be happy with positive affirmations. Ultimately, whatever you think and say you are, you are.

If you constantly tell yourself you’re not good enough or won’t ever reach your goals, then you probably won’t. On the other hand, if you reinforce your positive thoughts and feelings with positive affirmations, you’ll start to transform your subconscious habits, behavior, attitude, and reactions.

Think of a positive statement that pertains to the area of life you want to strengthen and change, and say it every day. Make sure your affirmations are always in present tense. After all, you want those positive changes to happen right away, not in the future!

Simply changing your thoughts can change your life!

3. BREATHE

Breathing sounds so simple – you do it every day without ever really thinking about it. When used correctly, breathing can calm you down, rejuvenate and relax you, and completely change your mood in seconds.

Breathing has even been shown to lower blood pressure and improve digestive disorders!

Instead of ignoring your breathing habits, pay attention to them, and make an effort to practice deep breathing throughout your day to de-stress and change your attitude.

A simple way to do this is to use a technique called Reverse Breathing. Simply breathe in slowly through your mouth allowing your belly to expand, then breathe out slowly through your nose, allowing your belly to contract. Focus on your breath, and do this for ten total breaths.

This will help center and calm your mind while drawing energy inward.

4. AROMATHERAPY

Studies have shown that aromatherapy can actually alter brain waves and behavior, and research suggests that it may even reduce the perception of stress, increase contentment, and decrease levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

Lavender, in particular, encourages relaxation and helps promote sleep while lemon or citrus scents have been shown to improve mood and relieve stress. Rosemary has been shown to have positive effects on performance and mood.

You can use essential oils, candles, diffusers, lotions, and even flowers to feel these effects. You can even cut fresh lemon in your home or put fresh lemon in your water. Get creative!

5. DANCE

Dancing is a fun and easy way to decrease stress and increase happiness immediately. Have you ever seen an unhappy person dancing before? Have you ever seen someone dance without smiling?

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic reported that dancing can help relieve stress, increase energy levels, and even improve your mood.

You don’t have to dance for half an hour or even for a whole song to feel these effects. Simply try one-minute dance sessions whenever you need a break or a mood boost! Find a fun, upbeat song on your phone or computer, turn up the volume, and dance it out!

You might feel funny doing this, but you’ll have so much fun you won’t care! And you’ll end your dance sessions in a much better mood!

TO WRAP IT UP

Whenever you’re feeling stressed out and unhappy, thinking that happiness is all but attainable, give these 5 tips a try. Really try to get in the habit of doing tips 1 and 2 every morning, and start incorporating tips 3, 4, and 5 throughout your day.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can transform your mood and attitude when you choose to pursue happiness!

What are some ways in which you boost your mood? Share in the comments!

Looking for more? Discover 20 Ways To Increase Your Vibrational Frequency.