Happiness Is an Inside Job

Posted by GladGirl Team on August 12, 2014

Beauty is an inside job. No seriously, science says so. You may have found your favorite eyelash extensions and mastered the dewy glow, but these beauty tricks are only superficial fix-its without the secret ingredient—happiness. Researchers at University College London discovered that perhaps the most potent beauty and anti-aging weapon is actually a very popular emotion! Results of the study showed that middle-aged men and women from the United Kingdom who reported being happy with their lives on a day-to-day basis exhibited healthier levels of chemicals and hormones than adults who reported feeling fewer positive emotions. Apparently, the happier you are, the lower your cortisol levels. Cortisol is known as “the stress hormone” and chronically elevated levels are associated with virtually every modern chronic disease, from heart disease to cancer! Not to mention, too much cortisol leads to premature aging. No thank you! Unfortunately, life can be difficult, and happiness isn’t always so easy to come by…which is why it’s important to cultivate happiness from within. In order to feel happy on a regular basis, it’s necessary to stop depending on outside circumstances as the source of your happiness. Just like beauty, happiness is an inside job.

Get to Know (and Like) Yourself

You’re a pretty cool gal, rather you realize it or not. Your parents love you, your friends love you and hopefully you love yourself, too! If not, it’s time to start liking yourself, no matter your quirks or your perceived imperfections. Appreciate your eccentricities—they’re what make you an individual. That gap in your front tooth or those freckles in all the wrong places? Embrace them! They add to your beauty and uniqueness. When you can look in the mirror and be happy with what you see (on the outside and on the inside) you will be that much more impervious to unforeseeable outside circumstances that occasionally rock your world.

Go with the Flow

You’ll be constantly knocking up against challenges, and unhappiness, if you approach life in a rigid, inflexible manner. Life happens, people will disappoint you, you won’t get everything you want, and the more you can accept the ebb and flow of good and bad, the happier you will be overall. So rather than having a temper tantrum, just let those waves carry you over the turbulence…sooner or later you’ll return to calm waters.

Be Alone, Not Lonely

At some point in your life you are going to be alone. Happy people know how to be alone without being overcome by loneliness. Learn how to sit with yourself, how to be alone with your thoughts and how to be entertained by your own company. Discover activities you enjoy doing alone, whether it’s hiking up a mountain or kayaking down a stream. You’re never alone when you’re in good company…just you and you.

Go Ahead…Brag a Little

Celebrate your success. You’ve earned it! Treat yourself to a massage when you complete that project you’ve been working so hard on. And don’t hesitate to let other people you trust know you’re a rockstar. Brag a little, and you’ll dip into feelings of gratitude. Gratitude calls in more of the good stuff to be grateful for. Keep reminding yourself that you have many, many things to be happy about.

Move Your Body

Exercise activates endorphins, those feel-good hormones that tell us everything is right with our world. Staying active also keeps you in tune with your body and its needs. So next time your sulking on the couch, shake it off, get out there and move your booty. Your body will zap those negative thoughts from your mind and remind you to be present and engaged with the world…happily so. :)