If You’re Feeling Down, These 50 Wholesome Pics Might Lift You Up

For Sarah from 'Action for Happiness,' living a life of happiness and a life of duty and purpose aren't polar opposites: they're both closely interlinked with one another. "Finding real happiness isn't about always seeking a temporary state of feeling good. A lot of what actually makes us happy relates to duty and purpose," she said.

"The 10 keys to happier living are giving, relating, exercising, awareness, trying out, direction, resilience, emotions, acceptance, and meaning. We are likely to be happier if our lives have direction, meaning and purpose and if we are part of something bigger than ourselves," Sarah said that living a life full of purpose with a clear sense of direction while also lending others a helping hand is a more fulfilling one than blundering about aimlessly.

"Giving or doing things for others is another example. Relating is about being connected to other people and being part of a community. Duty and purpose don't have to be serious things, being part of a cause that you care about or taking part in charity fundraising, all these things make us happy and fulfilled. We should see these things as acts of service that help us to be happy and help other people at the same time. Awareness is about appreciating each moment no matter what we are doing at the time."

Sarah gave us some very tips on how to deal with our current feelings of isolation, burnout, and exhaustion. She also shared how we can rediscover our joy of living. First of all, she highlighted the fact that it's perfectly "ok not to be ok," since it's normal to feel isolated and burned out "during a traumatic experience like a pandemic." The key is not to punish yourself for struggling during these difficult times.

"Don't be down on yourself for struggling, most people are in the same boat. If we admit that we are struggling we can start to take steps to get better. Don't suffer alone, talk to friends and family, let them know what's going on, and make time for meaningful conversations," Sarah from 'Action for Happiness' suggested that we open up to our loved ones more. However, that's not all.

"Start taking small steps to support your mental health and wellbeing. Are you getting the basics right? Eat healthy food, get enough sleep, and daily exercise. Take time for yourself, go outside and be in nature, notice the way the seasons are changing at the moment. Plan time in your diary to do something you love like creating art or music," she said.

What's more, even though we might be feeling sapped and down, it's the perfect time to think about others, not just ourselves. "Think about how you can reach out and do things for others, help a neighbour or volunteer for a cause, we get happiness high from helping other people. Or start small and simply list three things that you can be grateful for each night before bed. Take it slow and be kind to yourself, the world is starting to open up but go at the pace that feels good for you," Sarah advised us how we can take the first steps to step out of the pandemic lockdown fog and into the sunlight.

Previously, I spoke about the relationship between helping others and happiness with Vanessa King, the Head of Psychology at ‘Action for Happiness,’ a movement that’s dedicated to creating a happier, more caring society. The Dalai Lama is the movement’s patron and King is the author of '10 Keys to Happier Living.'

King told Bored Panda that an important part of being happy is helping others and doing kind things for them.

"If you think about it human beings are social species, we evolved to live in groups so working together and doing things to help each other is the social glue that keeps us together,” King explained.

"Participating in group activities and community events makes us happier too. When we do things for others it activates the reward center in the brain, so when we give a gift it feels the same as receiving a gift," King detailed to Bored Panda in an earlier interview.

Even if we’re not usually altruistic, King had some wonderful news for us: it’s a learned skill that we can develop step by small step. It all comes down to consistently working at it every day. “At Action for Happiness, we provide daily actions and advice on small changes you can take each day to start bringing more kindness into your life. Small daily actions one at a time can help us to make altruism a lifetime habit. You could start out small by deciding you are going to smile at everyone you meet or pay three people a compliment today."

There are other ways to develop your altruistic inclinations, too. For instance, giving money to charity, donating to a food bank, or volunteering your time for a cause that you think is worth it. “You can leave a food package or a note for an elderly neighbor,” King from ‘Action for Happiness’ said.

“All of these actions help others and boost your own happiness and if we are happier, research shows we are even more likely to help others.”

There’s some more good news on the altruistic front. We know that not everyone is willing to help others purely out of the goodness of their heart: they’re constantly thinking about what they get out of it. Fortunately, King told us that it’s perfectly fine to “fake it ‘till you make it” and not worry too much about whether you’re actually being self-interested or kind.

“Maybe at first, you start out doing things to help others only to get attention and praise, but you will find that doing things for others helps you feel good and when you see people’s responses. Once you see the difference you can make in the world and to your own happiness and altruism can grow naturally," the Head of Psychology at ‘Action for Happiness’ said.

Kindness, according to King, has a ripple effect. We’re more likely to be kind when we experience kindness in turn. So helping even one person with a seemingly trivial task can have a knock-on effect that’s far bigger than we initially think.

It’s best to do kind things without expecting anything in return. First of all, because it’s the morally correct way of living life. But secondly, because of one very practical aspect: we can never be sure that we’ll be rewarded for our troubles, so it’s best to have very low expectations (or none at all!) so that we’re not left feeling disappointed.

"It may also be helpful for the person to think about why they are seeking attention and reward from an external source, a key part of being happy is feeling comfortable with who you are and accepting life the way it is,” King suggested.

She continued: “I’d suggest that the person taking time to build up their self-care to become happier and more resilient. Perhaps start with a personal gratitude practice to appreciate what they already have in life, writing down three things each day that we are grateful for can boost happiness.”