Happiness is often seen as somewhat of an anomaly – hard to figure out, acquire, and replicate.  But the truth is that happiness CAN be learned and reinforced if you know where to start.  Of course, that can often be the hardest part, right? Writer Gretchen Rubin once took on the challenge of studying happiness in an effort to manifest it in her own life.  What she found was that there are at least 10 ways that this can be accomplished.  Here, I will highlight a few, and when you are done reading you can go and check out her article, “10 Ways to Be Happier,” over at RealSimple.com.

Step 1: Start small.  Don’t try to bite off more than you can chew.  There will be plenty of time down the road to answer the deep questions.  For now, start with something basic like getting to bed at a normal hour.

The rest of the information Gretchen covers is more like principles than a prescribed schedule, but they are good rules of thumb:

• Fake it if you need to.  If you’re feeling low, try to do something to make you feel happy or at least attempt to act the part.  Studies show that you can actually act your way to happy.  Our actions can affect our thoughts just as much as our thoughts can affect our actions.  And smile!

• Think outside the box.  Don’t just do what you always do; find a new activity or hobby to occupy your time.  You’d be surprised at how well your brain reacts to surprise.  Even if you are not successful at your new task the first time, you will still be happier having tried it than you would be if you remained complacent and stayed stuck in your routine.

So what do you think of this, Parkside? Have you found any of these things to be true, or have you found your own methods for getting and staying happy?