One of the best ways to support yourself as you undertake this journey is to develop habits that support your mindset and make you happier. Not doing whatever you can to support your mindset makes you more likely to fall back into negative thinking patterns and thus more likely to give up when things get difficult.

Researchers have discovered several habits you could adopt that will make you happier in both the short and long term and help support your mindset. This is a small selection of them. You don’t have to adopt all of them (in fact, you couldn’t -it’s physically impossible), but find one or two that work for you and incorporate them into your routine.

Meditation

This ancient practice has been around for thousands of years for a reason. It helps practitioners in numerous ways, from improving focus to sleep. It reduces stress and improves mindset. You don’t need to meditate for hours to get the benefits, either; 10-15 minutes a few times a week is enough. You can choose from any number of types of meditation too -silent, mantra, movement, loving-kindness, guided, and more.

Gratitude

Developing a gratitude practice is one of the top ways to support a positive mindset and focus on how far you’ve come and all the benefits in your life. A gratitude practice can be as simple as listing three things you’re thankful for to yourself before bed each night, or as formalized as using prompts in a gratitude journal every day.

Sleep

That isn’t a typo. Getting enough sleep is the key to supporting your mood and having the energy to go after your goals. Most people in the modern world are chronically sleep-deprived. This leads directly to a whole host of physical and mental health issues, one of which is an inability to maintain a positive outlook and be happy. Prioritizing getting enough sleep may just be the number one thing you can do to help make yourself happy!

Journaling

Journaling has been a natural outlet for stress and frustration for centuries for a reason. There’s something about the physical effort required to put words down on a page that causes the brain to process them faster. Journaling both reduces stress and increases happiness. You can use a blank journal, a plain notebook, a fancy journal with prompts, or anything in between. You should journal for a few minutes several times per week or daily for the most benefits.