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Do you want to help create a happier and kinder world? If so, please join our movement, add your pledge and we'll send you practical action ideas to make a difference. By choosing to Join, you trust Action for Happiness to take care of your personal information and agree to our Privacy Policy.

I will try to create more happiness and less unhappiness in the world around me

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Be comfortable with who you are

No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy.

Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are.  Read more

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  • Action 8

    Find your strengths and focus on using them

  • Action 33

    Be realistic in your reasoning

  • Action 19

    Give yourself a happiness check-up

  • Action 28

    Detox your negative thinking patterns

  • Action 9

    Get help if you're struggling

  • Action 7

    Bring mindfulness into your day

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What is the real you like?

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I've spend and wasted alot of energy comparing myself with others, and wanting what I don't have. But now I increasingly accept the way I am and feel relieved, I've let myself off the hook. my motto is 'i'm content with who iam and what i've achieved'

Kiran, London, UK2 Sep 2010, 13:31

I am a good person, happy to be average in most things and I don't seek to evaluate myself against unrealistic targets which only creates unhappiness. I make mistakes and that's how I learn and grow as a person. I am accepting of others and interested in hearing a different point of view to my own.

Sue, North Yorkshire, UK2 Sep 2010, 13:31
This is a tricky question. I would say I'm much more the real me now than I was as a hedonistic teenager or as a stressed business consultant. The biggest change has been to worry less about what people think of me and just try to get on with doing things I'm passionate about. I'm still driven and hard-working, but I try to be able to laugh at myself too. I guess deep down, like everyone, I just want to be loved and valued for who I am. Mark, Kingston, Surrey2 Sep 2010, 13:31

Happiness facts

Our happiness is not set in stoneAlthough our genes influence about 50% of the variation in our personal happiness, our circumstances (like income and environment) affect only about 10%.

As much as 40% is accounted for by our daily activities and the conscious choices we make. So the good news is that our actions really can make a difference.

Happiness is good for your heart

Harvard School of Public Health examined 200 separate research studies on psychological wellbeing and cardiovascular health.

Optimism and positive emotion were found to provide protection against cardiovascular disease, to slow progression of heart disease and reduce risk, by around 50%, of experiencing a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack.

 

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