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······Change your brain. The human brain has an unfortunate tendency to lock on to remembering negative experiences and forget the positive ones. However, thanks to something called neuroplasticity, you can actually change the way your brain functions. You can train your brain to be happier.
Learn mindfulness. Mindfulness has many positive effects on the body. Focusing on your experiences in the present moment without judging them can help you become more compassionate to yourself and to others.
Try meditation. Activities that promote meditation, including yoga, Tai Chi, or spiritual reflection, actually change an area of your brain called the insula, which is involved in your experience of empathy. Developing your empathy muscles will help you lead a happier life.
Make even small things “experiences.” A great way to train your brain to be happier is to actively acknowledge the beauty of even small moments and turn them into “experiences.” It’s easy to briefly notice a gorgeous sunny day or a compliment from a friend but then let those moments slip through the cracks of our memory. To be happier, focus on those great little moments and remind yourself that they occur.
Look for the positive in all your experiences. The old saying that you find what you look for is true. Because of this, make it a habit to actively seek out the positive in any experience. It’s not only good for your overall happiness, it’s good for your physical health. Research suggests that happiness even boosts your immune system.
Reframe experiences that appear negative as learning experiences. It can be tempting to let challenges or roadblocks keep us from feeling happy. Sometimes, it looks like there’s nothing good about a particular situation or experience. However, it’s important to think about even the greatest setbacks as experiences we can learn from for the future.
For example, consider Myshkin Ingawale. In a 2012 TED talk, Ingawale discusses his long road to inventing technology that can help save women’s lives in rural India. The first 32 attempts were all failures. But instead of allowing himself to give up or see these challenges as failures, he used them as learning experiences for his next attempt. Now, his invention has helped reduce maternal deaths in rural India by 50%.
Studies suggest that refocusing on the positive can even help you heal from past traumas.
In the 1970s, researchers followed people who'd won the lottery and found that a year afterward, they were no happier than people who hadn't. This is called hedonic adaptation, which suggests that we each have a “baseline” of happiness to which we return. No matter what events occur, good or bad, the effect on our happiness is temporary, and happiness tends to quickly revert to the baseline level. Some people have a higher baseline happiness level than others, and that is due in part to genetics, but it's also largely influenced by how you think.
One study shows that positive thinking is an important component of self-esteem and overall life satisfaction. Optimism also tends to make your personal and work relationships better.
Optimism is more than just positive expectations. It’s a way of interpreting everything that happens to you. Pessimism tends to explain the world in global, unchangeable, internal terms: “Everything sucks,” “I can’t do anything to change this,” “It’s all my fault.” Developing an optimistic outlook means thinking about yourself and your world in limited, flexible terms.
For example, a pessimistic outlook might say “I’m terrible at math. I’m going to fail that test tomorrow. I might as well just watch TV.” This statement suggests that your math skills are inherent and unchangeable, rather than a skill you can develop with work. Such an outlook could lead you to study less because you feel like there’s no point to it -- you’re just an inherently bad mathematics student. This isn’t helpful.
An optimistic outlook would say something like “I’m concerned about doing well on that test tomorrow, but I’m going to study as well as I can and do my best.” Optimism doesn’t deny the reality of challenges, but it interprets how you approach them differently.
“Blind optimism” isn’t any healthier than pessimism. To go skydiving on your own without any preparation or training because you’re optimistic about your abilities is obviously a bad idea that could lead you to injury. True optimism acknowledges the reality of situations and equips you to face them.
Practice active gratitude. A multitude of research confirms that gratitude is good for you. It reduces anxiety and depression, helps you become more positive, strengthens your relationships with others, and encourages compassion. It also has been shown to increase your feelings of happiness.
Some people are naturally higher in “trait gratitude,” or the natural likelihood of feeling thankful. However, you can train yourself to develop an “attitude of gratitude” no matter how high or low your level of trait gratitude is.
Try to avoid approaching situations or people as if you “deserve” anything from them. This doesn’t mean that you have to put up with disrespect or being mistreated, but it does mean that you should try to take people as they are without feeling “entitled” to specific benefits or actions.
Accumulate all the little joyful things that happen to you during the day. They add up. You could keep a journal, and write them down. For example, if there was not bad traffic on the road, if you had a very scrumptious breakfast, if your friend said something uproariously humorous that made you laugh, if you took your dog out for a walk in the park and played with it, add these together. You’ll probably find that you have more to be grateful for than you even realized.
Share your gratitude with others. A word of thanks, even a brief one, can make someone else feel appreciated. Sharing your gratitude with others also helps you remember what you’re thankful for.
Let the good things sink in. It’s not enough to just note good things when they happen. Really take the time to think about them and let those experiences sink into your memory. Consciously telling yourself, “This is a wonderful moment and I want to remember how grateful I feel for it” can help you store up these memories for when times get tough.
Determine your core values. Your core values determine how you think about yourself, your life, and the world around you. These beliefs guide your decision-making. They may be spiritual, or they may not, but they’re the things that are fundamental to how you look at life. For example, “commitment to excellence” could be a value, or “dedication to family” or “belief in a higher power.” Whatever your values are, research suggests that when you aren’t living your life and making choices that are “value-congruent,” i.e., in line with your values, you’re likely to feel unhappy and dissatisfied.
Research suggests that when you are consciously aware of your values, you’re more likely to act in accordance with them. Take a little time and reflect on what is most important and meaningful in your life. You can think about times when you felt happiest or most satisfied and what the common factors in those situations may be, for example.
Often, employees’ dissatisfaction with their jobs can be traced back to a mismatch in core values. If your company doesn’t value the same things you do, you’ll feel unhappy even if you like your work.
Visualize your “best possible self.” This is an exercise that has been shown to increase your feelings of happiness and well-being. It involves two basic steps: visualizing how the “future you” looks when you’ve achieved your goals, and identifying the characteristics you need to use (or learn) to get you to where you want to be.
Begin by imagining yourself in the future, when you have gotten to where you want to be. Pick a few goals and imagine that you have achieved them. Make sure they’re personally meaningful, not external markers of status.
Visualize what this future-you is like. Imagine all the details of what success looks like. For example, if your dream has always been to be a musician, what does success look like for you? How much do you work? Who do you work with? What do you create? How do you feel about your work?
Write down all the details of this scenario. Then, imagine what characteristics you will need to use to get you there. For example, becoming a successful musician probably requires things like perseverance, creativity, patience, and energy.
Consider which of these traits and skills you already have. You may even surprise yourself with what you already know and can do. When you notice traits or skills that need further development, think about ways you can build up those things.
Show yourself self-compassion. Beating yourself up or giving in to negative thoughts can leave you feeling weak and unhappy. Dwelling on negative thoughts or feelings of guilt doesn’t it actually holds you back from growing and learning. Instead, show yourself the same kindness and generosity you should show to a friend.
Start your day with positive affirmations, such as “I accept myself today for who I am” or “I am a person worthy of love and respect.”
Take short “self-compassion” breaks throughout the day. For example, if you’re really swamped with work you might feel overwhelmed or guilty. Use mindfulness to acknowledge how you’re feeling: “I am feeling stressed right now because I have so much to do.” Next, acknowledge that everyone experiences these feelings from time to time: “I’m not alone in feeling this. It’s a natural feeling.” Finally, give yourself a quick compassion boost, such as saying something positive to yourself: “I am capable of getting this done. I can focus and work hard. I am a valuable person on this team.”
Challenge negative thoughts. We’re often our own worst critics. It can be easy to lapse into self-criticism. Instead, challenge negative thoughts when they show up. For example, if you’re on a diet but had some popcorn at the movies, a self-criticizing thought could be “I ate that popcorn. I’m such a failure on this diet.” Challenge this by showing yourself compassion and making a plan for what you’ll do differently: “I ate that popcorn and it wasn’t part of my healthy eating plan. This isn’t a failure, and I am not ‘bad’ for having had a treat. I will be more mindful of what I eat the rest of the day.”
Heal past traumas. If you find yourself consistently feeling down or upset, you might have some underlying issues from your past holding you back in the present. In the United States a report of child abuse is made about every 10 seconds. This is only accounting for reports of abuse. A lot of abuse and other traumatic childhood experiences go unreported to authorities. Trauma from the past or even just painful circumstances such as the death of a loved one or a bad break-up can cause mild to severe depression. If you have tried everything you can think of to make yourself happier, there is a chance you could be dealing with something along these lines.
If you have the resources available to you, consider seeking counseling from a licensed professional. The counselor can help you work through the past trauma or painful memories in healthy and safe ways. A counselor can also make referrals for you if you or the counselor feels an anti-depressant medication (for use temporarily or long term depending on your situation) is appropriate for your case. There is nothing wrong with seeking help! If you are feeling really embarrassed or self-conscious about seeing a counselor, you should know they are bound by very strict privacy and confidentiality laws. No one has to know you are receiving therapy except you and your counselor or doctor. Working through past traumas with a counselor may be difficult at the time, but it will greatly increase your quality of life in the long run.
Many communities and universities offer therapy through low-cost public clinics. Check in your area to see if this is an option.
Common treatments for trauma include cognitive-behavioral therapy, talk therapy, exposure therapy, and pharmacotherapy. These therapies can help you learn new ways of thinking and responding to situations and process your feelings.
If you don’t have access to professional counseling services, you could try using self-help books at your local library or talking to someone you trust about your feelings. Religious ministers and support groups are often places to go for free support. Often just the act of talking things out with someone you love and trust and who will support is a healing act in itself.
There are also free hotlines available to you if things get really bad. These hotlines are free and anonymous. If you are at a low place or just don’t know where to turn, these hotlines can help. Often these hotlines will direct you to local mental health resources in your area if you just ask them. If you just need someone to talk to, remember your call is anonymous and free. The person on the other end of the line is there to help if you need it. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is: 1-800-273-8255 and The Crisis Center Hotline is: 775-784-8090 or text ANSWER to 839863.
Own yourself. This means to accept and embrace your habits, your personality, the way you talk/look, your voice -- everything that makes you “you.” Remember that you’re a unique person who has value and is worthy of love and respect. Learning to be comfortable with yourself will help you project confidence to others and live a happier life.
Don’t apologize for traits that are part of you, like your personality, your voice, or habits. If there are traits you want to change, make sure you’re doing it for you and not because you feel like someone else has told you to. Make your decisions based on your values, not what others have declared you “should” do or be.
Love your body. It’s unfortunate that in today’s world, both men and women are bombarded with images of how we’re “supposed” to look, dress, or behave. These stereotypical “ideals” can cause a lot of harm. (Over 91% of women, for example, feel unhappy with how they look.) Practice finding things to love about your body. Put sticky-notes with affirmations such as “You’re beautiful” or “You’re awesome” on your mirrors. Embrace that bodies come in an infinite variety, and yours is unique to you.
Make a list of your strengths. Be honest with yourself. Write down everything that you know or are good at, no matter how “minor” it may seem to you. You can scuba-dive? That’s awesome. You can network with others on a team? Sweet! You can make a frozen pizza without burning down the kitchen? That’s good too!
Don’t compare yourself to others. For example, if you like to play video games on Saturdays, don’t let others tell you that you’re “lame” or “too old” for things that bring you joy. As long as your activities don’t cause you or other people harm, don’t feel guilty about doing things you love -- no matter what other people say.
Set . Take a good long look at your life, your values, and the person you want to be. Set goals that are meaningful to you and accord with your core values. Research suggests you’re more likely to achieve these goals and feel happier having done so. Ask yourself some big questions, like “How do I want to grow?” or “What impact do I want to have on the world?”
Be realistic. If you’re five feet tall, your chances of stardom as a professional basketball player aren’t great. Making realistic goals doesn’t mean you have to limit yourself to what you know or can do now, just that you acknowledge your situation and abilities when you’re making your plans.
Keep your goals action-oriented. It’s vital that you set goals that you can achieve. Remember that you can’t control what anyone else does or thinks, only what you do. Don’t set a goal that relies on others’ actions for success.
Frame your goals positively. You’re more likely to achieve your goals if they’re framed as something you’re working toward, not something you’re running away from. For example, if you want to exercise more, don’t tell yourself to “Stop sitting around so much.” This kind of goal statement is negative and will make you feel negatively. Instead, choose a positive goal that emphasizes action: “Take a 30-minute walk three times a week.”
Choose what makes you happy. Scientists have tried for years to develop a formula for happiness, and it turns out that being “chronically happy” (that is, feeling that long-term satisfaction and contentment) does have a formula. Scientists estimate that the perfect formula goes something like this: 50% genetic factors (biology, brain chemistry, etc.), 10% circumstantial factors (income, job, living situation), and 40% intentional activity (what you choose to do and think regularly). Choosing activities and experiences that are personally meaningful will really make a difference in your happiness level.
The ability to choose is very important for happiness. In one study, participants either chose their own positive activity or had one assigned to them. The participants who chose their own activity and regularly participated in it were happier than participants who weren’t allowed to choose their own. If you feel like your life is restricting your choices, try to find ways to incorporate more freedom in your life.
Studies have shown that feeling “awe,” or that feeling of overwhelming positivity when we see a beautiful work of art or visit a natural wonder, promotes happiness and well-being. When you can, indulge in whatever promotes that feeling of wonderment and amazement in your own life, such as listening to an incredible piece of music or going on a hike.
Focus on people, not things. The path to real happiness doesn’t lie through an iPhone or a fancy car. In fact, research suggests that people who are focused on material things are often trying to make up for other, unfulfilled needs in their lives. Materialistic people are often less happy with themselves and their lives than people who are less focused on “stuff.” It’s fine to appreciate what you have, but remember that things won’t bring you joy. They may even increase your likelihood of feeling sad or fearful.
Of course, you need to make enough money to meet basic needs — food, shelter, and clothing. If you’re living in poverty, you are far more likely to experience sadness and frustration than people who are economically comfortable, largely because of all the stress you’re under. Once you make enough to support basic needs, however, your happiness is not significantly affected by how much money you make, but by your level of optimism.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Studies show that humans can’t help but fall victim to the hedonic treadmill. We rapidly adjust to change, even positive changes, and treat whatever’s in our lives as the new status quo. That's why it's important to
to fuel personal growth.
Research has consistently shown that we’re more productive when we’re just outside our comfort zone. This is called the zone of “optimal anxiety,” and it pushes us to take risks and try harder because we’re unfamiliar with our situation. However, if you go too far outside your comfort zone too fast, your performance will plummet again. Look for a balance of stability and trying new things.
Taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone offers many rewards. One of the most relevant for your happiness is increased resilience, or how you deal with unexpected challenges. By routinely challenging yourself to push past your comfort limits, you develop the adaptability and flexibility to handle change when it arises.
. Science suggests that when you smile, whether you're happy or not, your mood is elevated. This is especially true if all your facial muscles, including the ones around your eyes, get involved. So smile whenever you can! Smiling is like a feedback loop: smiling reinforces happiness, just as happiness causes smiling. People who smile during painful procedures reported less pain than those who kept their facial features neutral.
Smiling releases endorphins, which are associated with pain relief, and serotonin, which is associated with happy feelings.
Remember that different cultures interpret smiling differently. For example, Russian culture views smiling at strangers in the street as suspicious, while Americans will readily smile at almost anyone. Smile at others, but don’t get offended if they don’t return your gesture -- they may just have different traditions than you do.
. In one study, two groups of people were asked to pick a poster to take home. One group was asked to analyze their decision, weighing pros and cons, and the other group was told to listen to their gut. Two weeks later, the group that followed their gut was happier with their posters than the group that analyzed their decisions. Granted, some of our decisions are more crucial than picking out posters, but often the options we’re agonizing over won’t have a huge effect on our long-term happiness. The stress of weighing all the options endlessly can make us unhappy, though.
Intuition can be honed by experience. For example, experienced nurses are often good at identifying symptoms in an individual and using a combination of their medical knowledge and intuition -- built up from past experiences -- to make the right decisions for their patients. Obviously, if you’re a brand-new nurse, your intuition isn’t going to be as good as someone with more experience. However, if you’re dealing with something that you’re pretty familiar with -- or that doesn’t have huge consequences -- go with your gut. You’ll be right more often than not.
Researchers also break intuition down into three domains or areas: heuristic, complex domain-relevant schemas, and incorporating affect into decision-making. What these fancy terms describe is how your brain stores and processes information to provide what’s known as “intuition.”
“Heuristic” refers to the process of learning something on your own through your experiences and drawing on those experiences when making a decision.
“Domain-relevant schemas” refers to the underlying thought processes a person already has about a specific idea or subject. For example, if you are trying to buy a new car, you already have a set of assumptions you are taking with you into the decision making process before you set foot at a dealership.
“Affect” refers to the mood or emotions you associate with the decision you’re attempting to make. All of these things combined are what make up a large part of your intuition, making your intuition more reliable than what some skeptics suggest.
Start with the small decisions first. Start with small decisions and practice following your gut so that you know exactly what following your intuition feels like. The more you practice this, the more in-tune you will be with that gut instinct.
Treat your body like it deserves to be happy. It may sound cheesy to say, but your brain isn't the only organ in your body that deserves to be happy. Researchers have found that exercise, healthy diets, and regular sleep are key factors in growing more happy and staying that way. Research has shown a correlation between high levels of life satisfaction, better physical health, and improved longevity.
People who are physically active have higher incidences of enthusiasm and excitement. Scientists hypothesize that exercise causes the brain to release chemicals called endorphins that elevate our mood.
Eat right. Eating healthy foods — fruits and vegetables, lean meats and proteins, whole grains, nuts, and seeds — gives your body and brain the energy it needs to be healthy. Research indicates that unhealthy diets, especially those rich in processed carbohydrates, sugars, and industrial vegetable fats, is responsible for some cell death, brain shrinkage and contributes to certain diseases like depression and dementia.
Get enough sleep. Study after study confirms it: the more sleep you get, the happier you tend to be. Getting just a single extra hour of sleep per night makes the average person happier than making $60,000 more in annual income, astoundingly enough. Research has also showed that employees who get enough rest are more productive and successful. So if you're middle-aged, shoot to get at least eight hour the young and elderly should shoot for 9 to 11 hours of sleep per night.
Stay close to friends and family. We live in a mobile society, where people follow jobs around the country and sometimes around the world. We do this because we think salary increases make us happier, but in fact our relationships with friends and family have a far greater impact on happiness. So next time you think about relocating, consider that you'd need a salary increase of over $100,000 USD to compensate for the loss of happiness you'd have from moving away from friends and family.
If it isn’t possible to move closer to your loved ones, communicate with them regularly. Technology such as cell phones and Skype make it easy to stay in touch with the people you love even when they’re on the other side of the world.
Be compassionate. Compassion is all about doing something kind for someone in need, or someone less privileged than yourself. A brain-imaging study (where scientists peek into people's brains while they act or think) revealed that people gain as much happiness from watching others give to charity as they do receiving money themselves! Think of effective ways that you can make your community or the world a better place by being compassionate. Compassion is a key part of , and it’s also really good for your health.
Tutor, volunteer, or get involved in a church group. Countless children are looking for someone to teach them and act as a role model.
Make a microloan. A microloan is when you give someone (usually in the developing world) a very small sum of money for an economic project of their own. Many microloans have 95%+ repayment rates.
Give a person in need food, clothing or shelter, if it would be safe. It's so basic, we often forget to think about it, yet so easy to do.
Increase the happiness of those around you by giving small gifts. This will increase your happiness as well - in fact, the one giving the gift usually feels a larger pulse of dopamine (the neurotransmitter responsible for feeling happiness) than the person receiving the gift!
Try loving-kindness meditation. This type of meditation stems from Buddhist traditions that focus on increasing compassion for others. Studies have shown that this type of meditation can reduce feelings of sadness and depression.
In a 2010 study published by Harvard researchers in American Sociological Review, people who went to church regularly reported greater life satisfaction than those who didn't. The critical factor was the quality of friendships made in church. Church-goers who lacked close friends there were no happier than people who never went to church. When researchers compared people who had the same number of close friends, those who had close friends from church were more satisfied with their lives.
This research shows just how important it is to make friends with similar values and outlooks as you.
It doesn’t matter what your interests and beliefs are. Finding something you're deeply passionate about and making friends with those who share similar interests will result in the same intimacy.
When you interact with people who share your interests, you feel happier due to sensations of reward and well-being. This is because during such interactions, serotonin and dopamine — neurotransmitters responsible for feelings of happiness and relaxation — are released into the body. In other words, your body is designed to feel happier when engaged in social interactions.
. A study by a psychologist at the University of Arizona has shown that spending less time participating in small talk, and more time in deep, meaningful conversations can increase happiness.
Meaningful conversations move past the surface level of informative “small talk.” These conversations discuss your ideas about love, life, hopes, and dreams.
Psychologist Arthur Aron has done a lot of work on how to generate meaningful communication between people. His work recently made a splash with the idea of “36 questions to fall in love.” While this media representation isn’t quite the way the research works, Aron’s questions do ask deep, probing things about the other person, which leads to a stronger feeling of intimacy and connection.
Share your happiness with friends. Studies have shown that people who openly share their positive feelings with others have greater social connection than people who don’t share. The next time you experience something wonderful, go start a conversation about it with a friend. It’ll bring you closer together and make you both happier.
Find happiness in the kind of work you have now. Many people expect the new job or career to dramatically change their level of happiness. But research makes it clear that your levels of optimism and quality of relationships surpass the satisfaction gained from your job.
If you have a positive outlook, you will make and if you have good relationships, you won't depend on your job for a sense of meaning. You'll find meaning in interactions with the people you care about. You'll use your job as a crutch instead of relying on it for meaning.
Find your flow at work. Flow is a state of mind where a person is fully absorbed in what they are doing. They have next to no trouble concentrating on the activity because the activity is challenging enough to hold their attention but not so challenging that it exhausts them. This might not be possible for every activity you do, but find ways to make it happen frequently and try out different strategies to make it work. Some people find their flow by using a timer to keep them focused for a set amount of time and others find their flow by setting up the work environment a certain way. Find what works for you. Studies have shown that employees who can find their flow have greater work satisfaction.
This is not to say you shouldn't aspire to get a job that w many people find that being on the right career path is a key determination in their overall happiness. It just means you should understand that the capacity of your job to make you happy is quite small when compared to your outlook and your relationships.
. In a study of college students, an attitude of forgiveness contributed to better cardiovascular health. You could say forgiveness literally heals the heart. While it is unknown how forgiveness directly affects your heart, the study suggests that it may lower the perception of stress.
Yet despite its many benefits, it’s incredibly hard to do. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to learn forgiveness.
Remember that forgiveness is something you do for you, not for the other person. Holding on to anger and hate can cause you immense hurt. And forgiveness doesn’t mean denying that the other person did something wrong. For example, consider Auschwitz survivor Eva Kor, who has publicly forgiven the Nazi guard who kept her and many others imprisoned during the Holocaust. She has said, “I forgave the Nazis not because they deserve it but because I deserve it.” She forgave her abusers because she didn’t want to carry the burden of anger with her, but they are still wrong for their actions.
Forgiveness also doesn’t mean continuing to put up with mistreatment. You can forgive someone for treating you wrongly and still take steps to make sure they don’t do it again.
Think about what you want to forgive. How does that wrong make you feel? You may wish to write down your thoughts and feelings.
Reflect on the experience. What could have been done differently? Can you learn from this experience? What would you want from the other person?
Write a letter to the people you want to forgive. What did they do that hurt you and why are you forgiving them? What do you want for them now? Where do you stand in the relationship? You don’t even have to mail these letters if you don’ simply writing them can be a way to express your forgiveness to yourself.
Remember that forgiveness isn’t conditional. If you make forgiveness contingent on a particular result or action, you could be waiting forever. It can be hard to forgive others because they may never admit or suffer consequences from their wrongdoing. Value forgiveness as a way to let go of something that can hurt you, not as a way to ensure anything happens to the other person.
Forgiveness can be a very spiritual experience. Studies show a clear correlation between “state forgiveness” (the act of forgiving something), self-forgiveness, and a sense of sacredness. By practicing forgiveness you may end up discovering something sacred about yourself or the world around you.
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For example:Don't say: Eat more fats.Do say: Add fats with some nutritional value to the foods you already eat. Try olive oil, butter, avocado, and mayonnaise.
This video will show you what researchers have found can make you happier. Give it a try!
Take deep breaths, and smile, even if there is nothing to smile about. Relaxation and meditation or prayer can be very helpful, if you believe in it. To relax, start by flexing your toes, feet and continue up the leg, and up to each area of your entire body, doing tensing up and then relaxing your neck, jaw/mouth, face and finally wiggling your scalp muscles. Even getting a massage is a way of taking just a bit of time out for yourself, as a way to reward yourself for all that you do.
Try to love others as you love yourself a little more. Happiness stems from feeling good about the things around you and how they affect you. Look in the mirror, and feel happy that this one who is looking back at you is a survivor.
The one person on earth who shouldn't ever be bored with who you are is yourself. Boredom is a personal problem. Be proactive. Take action to improve issues. Always look on the bright side. The past is gone and you can't change it. No one can. Be cheerful and positive!
Don't let what people do or say to you affect you negatively. If somebody says something to insult you, do not respond back, as they will tend to bother you more. Avoid such people.
Working toward your own personal goals, you will move forward instead of procrastinating. Figure out what will make you happy, and make one step at a time to get there.
Know your worth. Focus on making the best out of each goal you have. Keep reinventing yourself/never settling back for long, while on appreciating and applying yourself on any goals and opportunities you have.
It's when and if you fall, get back up and dust yourself off and go again... Remember that most of what you're stressing over now will be irrelevant in a year. And when you had a bad day there is always a new chance to make next time or tomorrow better. When you fall, you may get a scratch or a broken bone but it will heal.
Be content with who you are because nobody's 'the perfect one'. Finding time for you is important. Think about how lucky you are, by being grateful for anything you have. Be a peacemaker. If your ideas and understandings would continue dissension in a family squabble, or in your group of friends, or at a meeting of an organization such as on the job in a workplace, or in a church group, move on. Go to where you can be happy without unnecessary argument, anger and discord. Don't insist on your preferences and getting your way in a personality conflict, on shades of meaning and adversarial issues at the expense of the order and peace of the group.
If you are unhappy, even if you don't know why, talk it out with someone that you trust. The exchange of ideas and feelings is healing and usually provides some level of satisfaction or peace.
If you are constantly unhappy or depressed, seek professional help.
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