Spend time with loved ones

Don’t we all dream of a life that is filled with laughter? That may be a reason for chasing big bucks, which like the golden-fleece, eludes the majority of us. Financial Wellness is extremely important but there are other factors that make us happy and healthy and eventually wealthy.

I will introduce a few of these ‘hacks’ that are guaranteed to make you happy if you continue practising them. You definitely do not need to live in Finland to experience happi­ness even though many people agree that is the “headquarters” of happi­ness.

1. WAKE-UP RITUAL

a. Say to yourself that today will be a beautiful day or a great day

b. Ask God what He has in store for you. Use me Lord (if not a Christian what you believe in will be useful as well.

c. Remind yourself of your pur­pose in life and get out of bed

d. Do not grab your phone as the first thing for the day.

2. PRAY

3. SMILE

a. Definitely floods your body with feel good hormones and insu­lates you from stress

b. Smiling is infectious so the more you smile the better you set off a smiling /happiness domino effect

4. MEDITATE

a. Extremely good for your brain and an easy way to start is to do deep-breathing and just fo­cus on your “breath”excluding all others. That is what some will prefer to call mindfulness.

5. EXERCISE

a. That wonder drug that trumps virtually all others. Like smil­ing it does pour out feel good hormones. Strength training even goes an extra mile causing our muscles to act as “phar­macies” that pour out life-changing signals ev­ery time they contract.

6. BE KIND TO YOURSELF & TO OTHERS.

a. We are often too harsh on ourselves. Give your­self a break. Self-care is the real deal!!

b. Being harsh to others has no benefits.

7. SPEND SOME TIME DOING NOTHING

a. We need to re-set from time to time. Spend about 10 minutes a day doing absolutely noth­ing. There is happi­ness and innovation in “idling”. Do not abuse idling though

8. SPEND TIME WITH LOVED ONES

a. This is an­other power­ful happiness “hack”. You have to make time and be inten­tional about this; talk on phone, send messages, arrange to meet for a drink or meal. Social Wellness ranks very high on the happiness index and it’s fairly easy to plug into it.

b. While spending time together remem­ber that your choice of food and drinks also impacts on how happy or sad or anxious you may feel.

9. INDULGE IN A HOBBY

a. Our bodies and brain love vari­ety. Do you have a hobby? Get one

10. WRITE IN YOUR GRATITUDE DIARY

a. That is all it takes – keep doing it regularly.

This list is not exhaustive but definitely a good start. Share your happiness hacks with me via email and together we can keep the world smiling and happy.

At the end of each day ask your­self if you did better than the pre­vious day. That is all it takes. Doing better than the previous day for 365 days, for five years, 10 years… How amazing that will be!!!

AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pres­sure, blood cholesterol, BMI)

By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Health Essentials Ltd/ Mobissel

(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)

*Dr. Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exer­cise therapy, fitness nutrition and cor­rective exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – “There is no magic formula to being happy but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.” – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel