There’s a common misconception that living a happy and healthy lifestyle requires a surplus of time and money that many people just don’t have.
Between our busy social lives and underpaying jobs, it’s easy to come up with some rationalisation to stick to your old habits and continue ‘surviving’ rather than truly ‘living’.
A lot of us try to improve our happiness by spending money, but that only ever gives us temporary satisfaction. True and everlasting joy is never tied to money – and those who value wealth over better relationships with people end up living sad and lonely lives.
So, what can you do? Well, let’s take a look at a few tips you can follow to live a healthier and happier life without spending any money.
1. Take risks, big and small
One of the big things that hold you back from true happiness is your preconceived notions about the world around you. When you become a prisoner of your assumptions, you choose not to try new things on the off chance you won’t like it.
This could be holding you back from trying a new activity with friends, exploring new recipes to cook at home, or even just wearing a particular colour you haven’t seen yourself in before.
Discovering new things is what makes life interesting; nobody is ever happy following the same routine – if you live life like you’ve seen it all before, then you won’t have much to look forward to.
2. Chart the goals you want to achieve
With so many distractions around you in your everyday life, it can be easy to lose sight of your goals and give in to temptations that set you back.
One of the ways to combat this is to create a visual chart of the things you want to achieve, and have it prominently displayed in your home (behind your bedroom door is a perfect spot), so it can serve as a potent visual reminder of what your long-term goals are.
The specific way you make the chart is entirely up to you. For example, if one of your goals was to boost your health so you can lose weight, then you could post up pictures of healthy body types or clothes you want to be able to fit into.
The human mind makes associations between images and ideas much faster than we do with words, and this is why just seeing a particular brand’s logo will evoke certain feelings in you. You can use advertising theory to trick your brain into sticking to your goals!
3. Give back and do something to help others
One of the universal truths of human existence is that helping others brings joy back to you as well. In our modern world, where everyone seems more distrustful of each other, offering a helping hand to a stranger often feels like it opens you up to more risk rather than emotional reward.
However, it is impossible to be truly happy if you take on a selfish mindset and refuse to help others or sacrifice any of your time for something that doesn’t directly benefit you. There are so many ways you can help, both big and small, and many of them don’t require you to spend any money.
For example, volunteer on the weekend at a homeless shelter or offer to walk your elderly neighbours’ dog for them one day. There are so many little ways you can contribute to help people in need that will give you genuine satisfaction in your life – don’t forget it!