How to Live a Happier Life

Happiness. I think in a way that's everyone's end goal: to be happy. Some believe that at the core of happiness lies money, love or time. And while these notions aren't neccessarily wrong, I believe it's something else. I believe that at the core of happiness lies selflessness.

My psychology professor once said that the happiest people are those who give the most to others. This intrigued me, as in my head that made no sense at all. "How would I be happier, if my time and energy are spent on pleasing others? Why wouldn't I spend that time doing something to benefit myself? Come on now... That's just silly." So I tried it.

Here's the thing, I'm a pretty happy person as is, and I am so fortunate to live such a fantastic life, so I don't really have much to complain about. This means that I already get these random outbursts of joy, but the weird thing is that being selfless made me even happier and truthfully; its kind of addicting.

I started small by calling my grandparents whom I hadn't talked to in a while. I just had a nice chat with them, filling them in on how school was going and telling them what else I had planned. 15 minutes. That's how short the phone call was. But those 15 minutes I set aside to talk to my grandparents left me with filled with joy for the rest of the day because I realized that I could so easily participate in such an effortless task and make their entire day as well. I think grandparents don't get the recognition they deserve and many times people just don't think that they have enough time to call, or that they'll just do it later, but the issue is that later will never be convenient and thus the call will rarely be made. (Yes, I know there are exceptions... This is just what I've noticed). I also surprised my Oma in Germany and let me tell you: that was one of the happiest moments of my life. For those who don't know, I haven't seen my family in Germany for five years, and my Oma suffered from several mini-strokes last year. She couldn't talk or barely open her eyes and many didn't know if she would even make it. Even now, her speech is labored, as is her walking, she can't cook and bake like she used to and now my Opa has to take care of everything (taxes, laundry, cooking, getting dressed, he is basically her 24/7 caregiver). Anyways, to see her face filled with surprise and absolute joy made me so, so happy. I mean she was literally speechless. Even when I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk, she was dressed and ready to go in three minutes.

Little things add up, folks.

I can understand now why parents love surprising their kids with little gifts because one time I bought my friend blackberries (she loves blackberries) and the joy on her face made me feel so good about myself. Maybe this has something to do with appreciating the little things, but a couple weeks later she surprised me with pinapple (because I love pinapple), and I was so happy that she went out of her way to pick something up for me and that she thought of me. Like wow!!!! That little gesture just made my night, and that's when I understood why being selfless makes people happier: because it becomes your way of life and you don't expect anything in return, so then when you receive a little gift, it's easier to feel grateful because truly you dont expect it. It also feels good, knowing that you're contributing to another person's happiness.

I also have my parents to thank for this. My mom and Carl are some of the most selfless people I know, regardless if it's family or a friend from Middle School, they are always willing to help. They don't even expect anything in return, and they just give, give, give. Insanity. I've told them this already, but if I can even be half as selfless as my mom and Carl, then I'll be pretty content with that.

So yeah, being selfless rocks and I 10/10 recommend you try it.