The 10 Simple Secrets To Loving Life

Take stock this summer with some small tweaks to your outlook. The result? A happier, more fulfilled you

- Sharon Walker

1 Live on purpose

“A sense of purpose brings the greatest life satisfaction,” says happiness expert Paul McGee. Not only are people with a sense of purpose happiest, they also live longer and make healthier lifestyle choices by eating more veg and doing more exercise, according to research at Washington University. But how do you find your sense of purpose? It can come from kids, friends, work – or even housework. “My 87-year-old mom in-law still comes over every week to do our ironing – it’s not that we can’t do it, but she says it makes her feel useful,” says Paul. “She’d never say, ‘I do it because it gives me a sense of purpose.’ But it amounts to the same thing.”

DO IT Ask yourself, “What do I care about? What energises me? What am I doing when I’m at my happiest?”

2 Plan for happy times

Don’t just hope for a happy future; plan one! Figure out what makes you happy and do more of it. “You might have an amazing evening with an old friend and you both say ‘We must do this again soon’,” says Paul. “But then you never do.”

DO IT Ask yourself, “Will this make me happy?” Make a conscious choice. “We know going to yoga or visiting a friend will make us happy, but we stay in to watch TV because it’s easier,” says Paul. “Nothing wrong with a TV fix, just choose it for the right reasons.”

3 Stop comparing