Being happy is a state of mind and your state of mind needs to be driven by yourself, not by external factors. The best way to train your mind to be happy is to develop habits that will make you more conducive to being happy. Here are 5 habits that work for me:

Habit #1 Wake Up Early: The morning is an amazing time and if you wake up too late to catch it, its a huge loss. Everyone likes to sleep in and you should indulge yourself once in a while, but you’ll find yourself far happier if you wake up early and spend a bit of time by yourself. This is especially true if you have a long commute, as I did. If you’re awake earlier, you have a bit more of a run-up to the day.

Habit #2 Make To Do Lists: It’s easy to separate days where I have made to do lists and days where I haven’t. The days where I haven’t are markedly more disorganized, less productive and ultimately unhappier than the days where I have. If you’re in a relationship, to do lists become almost essential if, like me, you’re a forgetful sort of person.

Habit #3 Be Open: The more secrets you have, the less open you are./ The more you hide yourself – your true self – away from the world, the less open you are. The less open you are, the more unhappy you are. You’ll begin to feel that no-one really likes you or relates to you and that’ll be true, because no-one will know you. Most people think they shouldn’t be open because they’ll be vulnerable, but that’s not so – the fact is that when you live your life as though you have nothing to hide, when you make this a habit, you begin to realise that people actually lose their influence over you.

Habit #4 Cultivate A Hobby: Having something to be passionate about is important – it doesn’t need to be anything fancy, just so long as you can lose yourself in it for a few hours a week. Try and avoid a hobby that you do just for the sake of having a hobby, it needs to be something you’re genuinely interested in. Even video games can qualify for this habit!

Habit #5 Always Strive To Learn More: It doesn’t have to be in a specific field of study, but forming a habit to learn new things is perhaps one of the most important habits you could cultivate. An inquiring mind is a great thing indeed, and will grant you rich rewards in time to come but the best thing it will give you is a sense of curiosity, something that will ensure you’re never bored as you journey through life.

Well, there you have it – these are my habits – do you have ones you’d like to suggest? Let me know via the comments section!