Life isn’t easy. We spend most of our lives figuring stuff out as we go along. We make bad decisions, trust the wrong people, and hurt people we care about. It often leads to mental chaos in our lives, but fortunately, there are ways to pick yourself back up from upset. While we can’t offer you a roadmap on how to live your life, we can share some of the best life tips to help you live a happy, healthy, and stress-free life. Using these life tips can help you achieve a sense of inner peace while still allowing you to live a life that’s unique to you. So, let’s give these life tips a whirl.
20+ Life Tips to Live Happily and Extraordinarily
1. Develop Good Habits
The key to success in life is to develop good habits. You are what you do. If you mindlessly scroll through social media feeds for hours on end, you’ll live a mindless life. If you choose work over life, you’ll likely achieve a lot of professional success. If you prioritize your family, you’ll likely have a lot of social success. If you aim to have a balance of work and play, you’ll likely find life to be quite meaningful. The actions you take every day create the path you end up on. So choose your habits wisely.
2. Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
We spend so much time glued to our cell phones that we never take any big risks to become successful people. Sure, everyone makes mistakes. But, have you ever tried to push boundaries to see what's in store for you? Life is meant to be lived, out there in the world, with other people around you. Your success and happiness aren't hiding on your couch under a blanket, where you hideaway from the world. You don't need to start a business, but do plan something for your future that gets you closer to living the reality you want instead of the fantasy you always dream about.
3. Do What You Love
One of the life tips you should consider following is do what you love. In everything. If you love going for walks, find thirty minutes to an hour to go on one mindful walk each day. If you love painting, spend your free time creating art. If you’re obsessed with writing, you might choose to freelance write for a website for a living. Maybe you love moving your body, so you take on a part-time job teaching fitness classes to inspire people to have fun getting in shape. Whether you’re looking to do what you love for pay or pleasure, there’s no such thing as being too happy by focusing on doing activities you love doing. I mean who wants to spend their life doing meaningless work that makes them miserable? Doing something you hate doesn’t make you a martyr. There is another path you can choose.
4. Block Negative Thoughts
If you’re looking to live a good life, a life tip to consider is blocking negative thoughts. Yeah, I know, way easier said than done. You’re going to be telling your brain to quiet down a million times those first few weeks. But there is a way to reduce negative thoughts. You need to learn how to replace negative thoughts with happy thoughts. When a toxic thought enters your mind, you’ll need to think of a new positive thought to replace it. Don’t let that Negative Nancy in your head spiral you down the path of no return.
5. Practice Daily Meditation
One of the best life tips is to practice meditation daily. Meditation helps you become more aware of your life. It grounds you in the present moment. You know how you’re always yo-yoing between the past and future? Well, that’s why you’re always so depressed and stressed. But in the present moment there’s peace of mind. It helps you become more mindful of your actions and what’s actually happening around you. And eventually by living in the present world more, you begin to enjoy life. Why? Because you finally stepped outside your head.
6. Don't Hold Grudges
These life tips are all about becoming the best version of yourself. It's so easy to hold grudges for a long time and to plot revenge or sabotage someone. But does that actually help you? More importantly, what if someone did that to you every time you did something bad during a bad day? You assume your positive intent but don't consider someone else's. Don't allow yourself to get stuck in thought loops you can't get out of. Take some time out of your morning, to practice a loving-kindness meditation to express love for people instead of holding grudges against them.
7. Do An Act Of Kindness Daily
If you’re looking to achieve more happiness in your life, a life tip to try out is doing an act of kindness every day. It’s actually really easy to do, and doesn’t take much work. When you go on social media, leave kind comments on people’s posts. When you’re notified of a friend’s birthday, wish them well. The more good deeds you do, the kinder you become over time. The kinder you become the less stress you’ll have to deal with long-term.
8. Look Beyond the Daily Grind
Getting money in your bank account is always a relief. But your job isn't your whole world. Even if you have a business that relies on you for its continued growth, your success could interfere with things you actually value and care about. Your happiness isn't found at the bank. Your future could be set with a lot of money, but imagine something bigger than what money can buy. Imagine your growth as a person. Hope for a wonderful family who loves and supports you no matter what. Dream of the rest you'll have from a balanced lifestyle. And work towards good health as you age.
9. Be A Minimalist
Life tips don’t get any simpler than this. Being a minimalist can save you from so many headaches. If you live in a small home with not a lot of stuff, that can actually be a good thing. There’s less to clean and less to worry about. Things don’t give life meaning. People do. So instead of hoarding junk from the good old days, you might feel relieved to have fewer things than you did before. It feels good to have less stuff.
10. Be Curious
The best life moments begin with, “I wonder what it's like to…” In my twenties, I claimed to be a dare-devil. I’d jump out of planes, jump off bridges, and jump over logs with my bike. It challenges you to cross mental barriers you didn't know were possible doing something that puts you at risk. Curiosity isn’t always about finding new things you love, though. It’s about learning who you are and what you’re capable of. If you never try something, you’ll never know what you actually think of it. Now, that’s one of those life tips you’ll need to try for yourself.
11. Save Money
Life tips around money will help you to a point. After all, money is key to our well-being, it can afford food and shelter. However, living pay check to pay check isn't really the best feeling. Your financial health matters. So, don't let your money get lost in everyday expenses and save for a rainy day. Whether you build a business, get a freelancing gig, or something else, working a part-time job can help you save money when things are tight. While it can take away some focus from the things you love, doing this temporarily can help you get on track with bills and save for a rainy day. The goal isn't to work multiple jobs for years on end as that would burn you out. Your bank account isn't the only thing that matters. You also need to spend money less often to help you save.
12. Stop Trying To Impress People
Life’s too short to impress people. In our world, we’re the most important person. It’s our responsibility to believe in our importance to keep ourselves alive long enough to reproduce and fulfill our life’s purpose, at least that's what evolution is about. But outside of our world, each person also believes they’re the most important person. Evolution designed us that way so that we continue to multiply. You’re never going to convince someone that you’re more important than they are. No matter how hard you try. Instead, focus on being happy and more stress-free. Live the life you want to live instead of the life others want you to live. Or that you think others want you to live.
13. Invest in a Gym Membership
In your daily life, consider working out at a gym. If possible, you could create a home gym with the equipment you need to complete a workout. The only reason you need to workout is to build for your future health. Muscles deteriorate with time, so consider a weightlifting routine as you get older to make yourself strong and see muscle growth. Plus, it'll be easier to feel safe, if you know how to defend yourself in life or death situations. And you'll see a boost in happiness from regular exercise, making this one of those life tips to start today.
14. Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
One of the most essential life tips is don’t compare yourself to others. It’ll only make you miserable. Comparison is a dirty game where no one wins, so stop comparing yourself to others. The grass isn’t greener on the other side. And it’s not greener under you either. The whole world has enough greenery for everyone. Every person has a set of experiences and skills that lead them down a unique path. Their path isn’t better or worse than yours. It’s just different. You could spend your whole life comparing your life to others only to realize that no one was playing that game with you. What a waste of time and mental energy. Take the time to enjoy the good moments while they’re around. And observe what led to the unpleasant moments so you can grow from the experience.
15. Know it's Okay to Make Mistakes
Just move forward in the right direction. Your happiness will come from learning from the bad decisions you've made. No point in wallowing or spiralling into a negativity vortex to prove you care about your wrongdoings. Laugh off your mistakes if it makes sense, apologize to the friend you've hurt, take the advice you always ignore, and challenge yourself to do better next time. You don't need to make an example of yourself or turn yourself into a villain. Your past doesn't need to haunt you, so make good decisions in the present, so you can have a better future.
16. Avoid Debt
Debt is so ingrained in so many cultures that most people assume that it’s impossible to live debt free in the world. While financial hardships can set us off course, we should work hard to avoid being indebted to others. The easiest way to do this is to avoid buying things you don’t need to impress people. Most people try to one up their friends and family by going bigger. They’ll buy bigger houses, more cars, and expensive things to appear rich. However, appearing rich and being rich aren’t the same thing. So, the life tip to follow here is to avoid debt caused by keeping up appearances.
17. Listen Attentively
Show people that you're interested in what they have to say. You can help someone reach their full potential just by hearing their ideas and showing them support. You would hope to have people do that for you too. But the more you do it for others, naturally, they'll be more likely to listen to you. Successful people typically listen more than they speak, so that they know how to help people they way they want to be helped. Writing your ideas down can allow you to share your thoughts. But when with others, put the attention on them. Most people feel unheard, listen to their stories.
18. Remember People’s Names and Birthdays
One of the keys to success in life is remembering people’s names and birthdays. There’s nothing sweeter than the sound of your name. And when someone remembers your name and birthday it makes you feel special. If you want to live a happy life, go out of your way to celebrate people’s birthdays. A quick message will make them feel excited on their special day. Do it a day late and the excitement wears off. When you meet someone ask for their name and birthday. Put it on your phone so you don’t forget. Or repeat their name multiple times as you speak with them, so it doesn’t slip your mind.
19. Have A Work Life Balance
One of the life tips worth following is making sure you have a healthy work life balance. Most people don’t. Most choose work over life. They say it’s because they’re ambitious. They want to be successful. Or worse– they lie to themselves by saying they love to work. But really, they don’t love to work. They’re hiding from life. They’re hiding from their friends who know who they really are. They’re hiding from their families who love them unconditionally. They’re hiding from the life experiences that force you to grow. Work is a part of life– we can’t escape it. But work doesn’t need to be (and shouldn’t be) your whole life.
20. Spend Time With Loved Ones Every Chance You Get
When we lose someone we love, we fall apart. We want them back. We become depressed from the loss. But while we’re all here and alive, we fight or get annoyed by them instead. Fighting with someone is a choice, not a requirement. You don’t have to fight with every person you disagree with. It’s important to be patient with your family members. You can choose kindness in all interactions. You can give people the benefit of the doubt when you feel frustrated with them. It’s possible to choose love over hate. While you’ve still got your friends and family by your side, take advantage of every moment you have with them. Spend as much time with them as possible. Call them often. You never know when it’ll be your last chance.
21. Be Grateful
In life, you’ll experience many hardships and setbacks. That’s true. We won’t deny that. But there are so many people out there who’ve helped you throughout your life. There have been teachers who’ve educated you. There have been friends who’ve stood by your side. You’ve been given opportunities and things that others might have wanted but never had the chance to get. Each day write down a few things you’re grateful for and reap the benefits of gratitude. Be mindful of all the things you have instead of all the things you don’t have. By being mindful of what you have, you begin to appreciate your life in this moment. That way, when you lose some of the things you have now, you’ll know that you cherished loved ones while you had them in your life.
22. Boost Up Your Motivation
Successful folks can motivate themselves at any given moment. But the tricks they use to hype themselves up aren't out of the ordinary. They may plan ahead to simplify tasks, break up their work into manageable chunks, network with others to get a boost, listen to positive songs that excites them, or watch inspirational videos. Motivation will come to you more frequently when you celebrate the little wins. Those small milestones are worth high-fiving over and will help keep your motivation high as long as you stick with what you're working towards.
23. Explore The World
One of the greatest life tips is to explore the world. You don’t need to be a millionaire to get out there and explore. Some of the best trips can be had for only a couple hundred dollars. You can go on a road trip and explore new cities and states or you fly overseas to experience a different culture. Exploring the world is about exposure to different types of people and living so you can put together as many different perspectives to understand what life’s all about.
24. Live Life Your Way
The final life tip that we want you to focus on is to live life your way. Trust us, if you let them, others will happily dictate who you are, what you do, and what you believe. But not everyone wants the best for you. Besides, it’s no one’s responsibility to want the best for you. Everyone has to live life in their own way. Philosophers often say, “live in accordance with your nature.” That means live life in the way you were born to live it. You’ll learn so much about yourself the longer you live. Be the person you know you’re supposed to be. Don’t let fear put you on a different path. Be you. There’s no one else like you and the world needs the real you to balance stuff out.
Conclusion
Are these life tips helping you get back on track? Life isn’t very long– especially when you never know how much time you have left. So while you’re here make the most of each moment. Take the time to soak in gratitude for this wild experience. Tell everyone you love how much they mean to you. Put people first. Live a life that’s in accordance with your nature. Put the work laptop down and hang out with that “annoying” family member who won’t stop talking to you. Because it’s these little moments that make life meaningful and worth living after all.
