Because it’s not up to happiness to come to you, but up to you to go towards it. Happiness doesn’t just fall from the sky. It’s up to us to build it, day after day. But how do we go about it? Where do we start? Here are 4 tips to help you take control of your life and your happiness.

1 – Understand that it’s not up to happiness to come to you, but up to you to go to it.

It’s time to stop passively waiting for happiness. In other words, it’s time to stop rolling your eyes and sighing.

Happiness isn’t just going to come to you.

No, happiness needs you to come to it, to take small steps towards it.

Because it’s time to understand that, in this life, everything starts with you, even your happiness.

In fact, happiness isn’t something that just falls into your lap. Happiness is something we build day by day.

So, yes, to be happy in life, you have to be the actor in your life.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s difficult – in fact, it’s not. If anything, it’s a wonderful adventure that’s opening up for you.

In fact, taking charge of your life means stopping waiting and despairing, and getting moving. And that’s wonderful, because at last we can feel fully alive.

Yes, we are no longer victims of a curse called misfortune.

In fact, we can raise our heads with confidence and joy.

But what can we do to take charge of our lives?

2 – Aim for positive changes to take charge of your life

To take charge of your life and stop passively waiting for happiness, it’s essential to aim for positive changes in your life.

The problem is that we’ve learned to focus only on the negative things we need to change.

Imagine, for example, that we want to stop smoking. Instead of aiming for a tobacco-free life, a healthier life, lighter too, we aim to eradicate cigarettes from our lives.

In fact, a change that could be very positive to bring about becomes an uphill battle.

Let’s take another example: we don’t like our job. We could start by dreaming of a new job, looking for information, starting to ask questions. But we’re more likely to fall prey to criticism and stress.

So, taking control of your life and your happiness means transforming situations you don’t like into goals you do like.

Because, all too often, we are in a state of flight: I’m running away from this job I don’t like, I’m running away from my tendency to smoke too much, to eat too much…

Unfortunately, running away doesn’t lead us to happiness, but rather to even more stress and unhappiness.

That’s why, to be happy in your life, you need to take charge of your life by setting positive goals and aiming for positive changes.

It’s up to you!

3 – Rely on positive habits to take charge of your life

Because happiness doesn’t just happen when we reach our goals. Happiness is here and now, but we have to make it part of our daily lives.

How can we do this? By establishing positive habits.

In fact, taking charge of your life means finding the habits that suit you, that feel good, that help you move forward, and anchoring them, step by step, in your routine.

Yes, it’s time to understand that your life needs you to change, to be happier and more beautiful.

And that depends on the goals you set for yourself, but also on what you do on a daily basis to feel happier.

So, what are positive habits?

Positive habits are the little things you do every day that make you feel happier. It’s up to you to find them.

It could be reading, writing, sport, walking, meditation, DIY, gardening, cooking…

Yes, taking charge of your life means making happiness a habit!

4 – Refocus with soothing moments

So, taking charge of your life and finally taking your happiness into your own hands also means understanding that happiness isn’t just about goals and things to do.

Happiness is also, and above all, something to be lived, felt and experienced on a daily basis.

Indeed, the problem with taking charge of your life and your happiness is that you tend to be a little too focused on action, and miss out on happiness altogether.

In fact, we fall into the opposite trap.

We used to wait and do nothing, sighing after happiness, and now we run very quickly in one direction while forgetting to be happy at all.

That’s why it’s essential to have moments during which we refocus, and more precisely, during which we fully taste happiness.

So what are these moments?

These moments are the simplest moments in your daily life: during your morning coffee, in the shower, when slamming the door on your way to work, when resting your head on the pillow at night.

All those little moments when you can give yourself over entirely to the joy of the moment.

In fact, taking charge of your life is above all about becoming more aware of your life and taking a gentler, more grateful look at it.

So, to train yourself to savour these moments of simple happiness, I invite you to choose a first moment and savour it for the whole week ahead.

Personally, I started by savouring my morning tea, and that changed everything. What will it be for you?

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover How to trigger luck: 4 tips for feeling lucky
Discover How to take back control of your life: my 5 powerful steps

I recommend this inspiring book:

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven
In this inspiring book, Admiral McRaven shares the life lessons he learned while training as a Navy SEAL, focusing on the transformative power of small, disciplined actions. The central idea is that starting each day by making your bed gives a sense of accomplishment and sets a positive tone for the rest of the day. Through anecdotes and reflections, McRaven imparts the wisdom needed to take charge of one’s life by focusing on the small, controllable tasks that can lead to significant personal development and success.

You must read this book! It will bulldoze you through your doubts and absurd limitations. It’s one of those books that makes you feel like you can make things happen in your life.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself