The happiest people know the secret to life. Have I met one of these folks? No, not yet, but my husband comes close. Sure, he has days like most of us do when things go sour, and we need to vent, but he always bounces back to smiling and appreciating the moment he’s in.

From the years of research, I’ve learned that the happiest people do three things consistently:

1. Simplify their life.
2. Are grateful.
3. Live in the present moment.

I have been on a journey to attain that mental status for years now. The reason why it’s so challenging to be consistent is that my programming goes against that, so it’s a daily, if not moment-by-moment, battle to stay focused on those three things. However, I feel a lot happier now than I’ve ever felt.

Simplify Your Life 

I know that I felt a lot better getting rid of stuff I wasn’t using at the time. It feels better to simplify your life. It helps you feel a reduction in stress, chaos, and wasted time by having less.

Having a lot of stuff creates mental clutter. Mental clutter creates anxiety. Therefore, if we get rid of physical clutter, we calm our minds, relax, and get more enjoyment out of life.

Gratitude 

Gratitude makes us happier because it signals to our brains that we have enough. We don’t have to strive, want, or feel like we’re missing something. Also, feeling grateful helps us to feel calmer because there is no feeling of not having what we want.

When I began to feel grateful for myself, that was a game-changer for me. Sure, I was grateful for our house, car, income, food, etc., but I didn’t include myself. When we can feel grateful for who we are and how we feel, it’s showing ourselves love. When we love ourselves, we make better decisions, choose our relationships more carefully, and do what makes us happy as much as we can. That is truly something to be grateful for!

This doesn’t have to be a time-consuming practice. Do it once in the morning and before you fall asleep. Just think of three things you are thankful for and feel the gratitude for having them.

You’ll see the effects quickly, and you will see changes in your life. Things that annoyed you won’t matter as much. You feel more at peace and centered. Try it!

Living in the Present Moment

I know I’ve written about this before, but this is so important for a happy life. Why? First, because we are actually living in the present moment. The past is gone, and the future hasn’t arrived yet, so what we are seeing and feeling in the present is what we have for a life. Years ago, my husband gave me the book The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson to share the idea of balancing your life. It took me a long time to let the messages of living in the present sink in.

That being said, wouldn’t it be smart to make the best of your present? If you want to live a certain way, don’t wait until things turn around or you have more money or time; do it now.

Choose what you do in the present moment that serves you well. You’ll see that those moments will add up to the life you’ve dreamed about.

It can be hard to always focus on the here and now, but the more you do it, the easier it will become. I still have struggles with this, and I have been mindful of this practice for years now. It does take discipline because it’s so easy to slide back into our comfort zones, where we complain about the past or long for the future.  We live in our comfort zones because they make us feel comfortable. Stepping out of them is not only scary, but work, and who wants to do more work, right?

Well, if we want to live happier lives, we need to push through old patterns and focus on what’s happening in the present moment. That’s where we have choices and power. If something bothers us, by staying in the present moment, we can move past what hurts us and create a beautiful life each and every moment.

Thank you for reading this. If you have any other ideas on what can help us feel happy, please comment.  I’d love to read them.

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you savor the moments of the holiday and make it the best one yet!

To happiness,

Francesca

Written by a human for humans.

© 2025 FrancescaME | All rights reserved.

NO PERMISSION FOR AI TRAINING: Any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

FrancescaME is not a therapist or doctor, and any information shared is from research and personal experience. If you feel that you need more help, please consult a mental health therapist. If you are in a crisis, call 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (Languages: English, Spanish -Available 24 hours)

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