6 Simple yet Powerful Ways to Maintain Hope and Happiness

Feeling hopeless or despair is the worst of the worst.

“Despair drains from us all that is vibrant and joyful and leaves behind the empty remnants of what life was meant to be. Despair kills ambition, advances sickness, pollutes the soul, and deadens the heart. Despair can seem like a staircase that leads only and forever downward.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Where as

“Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness…[it is] “like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances. It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn.”

“It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf

In a world full of opposition, it is hard sometimes to see the light and feel hope.

Life can be a vicious cycle of feeling hope and feeling like everything is okay, and then

BAM!

You feel hopeless again. It feels like your constantly hitting a brick wall. Now, you’re filled with despair, and have to work to find your way back to the light.

We all have bad days, they’re inevitable, but feeling completely hopeless should not be one of them. 

Constantly maintaining that feeling of hope can be hard. But it doesn’t have to be!

So, How do you keep the feeling of hope? Especially if you’ve found you’ve hit the bottom again?

6 Simple yet Powerful Ways to Maintain Hope and Happiness

1.   Start with where you are.

Dismiss all the feelings you have of not being where someone else is, not being where you want to be, but simply being okay with where you are at, presently.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with the shoulda, coulda, woulda.

A lot of times we overwhelm ourselves with thinking that “I should be past this”, “I’m not doing as well as somebody else”, or “I’ll never be able to get where I want to be”.

Start with where you are in this moment.

What can you do right now? right this moment? No matter how small.

It can even be something as simple as taking a shower!

2.   Pray.

 Don’t underestimate the power of prayer.

Pray for help, pray for hope.

God is your biggest cheerleader. He wants you to be happy. He wants you to feel hope. He knows exactly what to do to get you where you need to be. Trust Him and lean on Him for help.

Just Pray. Even if you don’t feel like it.

3.   Enjoy Life is #1

 Don’t dismiss the cliché or the power of the small and simple.

The #1 on your to-do list every day should be “enjoy the day”.

To-Do:

1. Enjoy Life
2.       
3.       

If you aren’t enjoying life, what’s the point? Do at least 1 thing that you enjoy Every. Single. Day.

One of the best ways to do this is by making a “happy list”. (it might sound cheesy, but it works!) List out all the things you enjoy doing (big or small) and pick one of them to do every day.

4.   Set yourself up for Happiness

Create a routine of success.

If you’re doing the same thing every day you will get the same results.

Set up a routine that puts you in the right mindset.

A routine that trains your subconscious mind to retrieve the positive. So that when the hard days come, you know how to positively respond to it. They become easier! 

Start by incorporating the falling (simple tasks) into your daily routine:

• Morning Routine

You know what they say, win the first hour of the day, win the day! You choose the direction of your day as soon as you wake up in the morning! Is it going to be a good day or a bad day? You decide. Don’t let your circumstances decide for you. 

Create a morning routine. A routine that sets your day up for success! Read about my tips for a great morning routine here. 

• Self Care

Make sure you are scheduling regular self-care in your calendar. It not only makes you happier, but you are more able to be there for others and the people that need you. Especially if those people are smaller than 4 feet and put peanut butter on your couch. Here are some self care ideas. 

• Be Grateful

Oh, the power of being grateful! Be grateful every day! Live with an attitude of gratitude. Keep a daily gratitude journal. 

• Daily Affirmations

If you aren’t using affirmations in your life, you are missing out! They are so simple. Just a simple thought, but they have real power in your life. Put yourself in the right mindset by practicing affirmations daily. I have been using them more over the past year, and I can totally see a difference in my life. The great thing about Affirmations is you can start to see a difference in your life pretty quick. They are powerful.

Self Love Affirmations
Anxiety Affirmations
Anxious Mom Affirmations

If you feel overwhelmed at all about using them. Start with self love affirmations. Write down and say every morning 3 words or phrases to describe yourself. They can either be something that you are or something you’d like to become. Or even just, I love myself. Repeat them during the day. 

• Ponder/Meditation

Take some time every day to ponder. Listen to your inner thoughts. What are they saying? Listen to God, or just reflect on life, on your day, on how to be a better YOU!

• Exercise

Exercise is so important to our overall health. It also releases happy endorphins. Keeping on a regular exercise routine makes us happy, build energy and stamina, helps us sleep better, builds our immune system, and keeps our hearts ticking longer. You can’t go wrong with exercise. Here are some tips for exercising with kiddos.

• Sleep

Make sure you’re getting the proper amount of zzzzzzz’s. Try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. And, of course, getting the proper number of hours. 8 is the magic number. Sleep has a huge impact on your overall health and happiness. 

• Laugh

Laughter really is the best medicine.

“Humor brings perspective into our lives” – Steve Rizzo

The times where we don’t want to laugh, are the times that we need it the most. It has the ability to lift your mood and take a break worrying about all the things going on in your life. Take the time everyday to laugh!

By applying these small tasks into your life, you are giving yourself the tools to create happiness and be positive, specifically when life throws you curve balls. You could fit all of these into a nice morning or night time routine.

5. Acts of Service

Often times it helps to get lost in someone else’s life when we can’t seem to find the light in our own. It gives us perspective and helps us to stop looking inward. We are usually blessed more than the person we are trying to help. 

6. Journal

Journal on a regular basis. Research shows that expressive writing or Journaling can help to increase your overall happiness and well-being. Here are some journal prompts to get you started.

By creating positive habits in your life today, you will be more prepared for when those hopeless, bad days come.

SERIOUSLY! I couldn’t make this stuff up. 

Your brain is programmed to better see the positive in situations. (even the bad ones).  

Your mental stamina has increased. 

You are better able to see opportunities instead of challenges. 

You can keep the hope alive!

And those bad days will come because this is life and life is meant to be challenging.

So set yourself up for success!