1. What does happiness consist of?

It depends on 4 neurochemicals. These are:

All together they are what make us happy, but few people know that hormones can be «awakened» when necessary. Speaking of which, the following conclusion.

2. Piece your goals together

To trigger a dopamine surge in your body, define your goals and break them down into micro-goals.

How it works. Imagine you're saving up for a Ferrari (the main goal). Yes, if you save from scratch, you won't have the patience. But if you buy tires, rims, steering wheel (micro-targets), you will feel some result. This will stimulate dopamine production, making you happier!

3. Gain respect

Oxytocin is a product of trust and respect among your peers. Even likes and approving comments raise it. It is an important habit of respect among peers and "tribesmen" shaped by evolution.

Awesome personal performance when working in a team also raises oxytocin levels. Peer merit, on the other hand, lowers it. This is the following finding.

4. Don't compare yourself to others

When we fail or simply don't reach the level that another person has overcome, we start to feel sad. To avoid this, stop comparing yourself to someone else. Pump yourself up without looking at your competitors, then avoid stress and save valuable time.

5. The path is more important than the result

Why do you think many successful business people say that the process is more important than the result? Because the process itself feeds dopamine. It is actively produced in the process of waiting, but it goes down when the goal is achieved. So follow your path and have fun.

6. The 10-minute rule

Capture your results and move in the right direction, even in small steps. To do this, keep 2 simple guidelines from the book "Happy Hormones":

Regularly set aside 10 minutes for the "wow effect" of small wins. How. Praise yourself after achieving a micro goal; 
If you're constantly putting something off, spend just 10 minutes on it. A mess on your desk? You don't have to clean it out all day, do at least part of it. These simple tasks will trigger a whole surge of happy hormones, try it!

7. Laughter + sports = endorphin

How's that for an equation? Allow yourself to laugh out loud periodically, to have a good laugh. Don't hold back on that urge. And give your body a physical workout. You don't do iron weights or prolonged exercise? Replace them with stretching. This will also give you a burst of endorphins.

8. Trust + hugs = oxytocin.

Another helpful formula. Oxytocin has a direct effect on increasing trust and decreasing fear. So when you (or yourself) are trusted with an important errand or request, its levels rise in the body. The same effect is caused by physical interaction with another person. For example, a hug or a massage. How long has it been since you've had one? Maybe it's time to book a session, hmm?

9. Habits affect your mood

If you have bad habits, stop for a minute and think about what they are related to. For example, if you smoke, why are you drawn to a cigarette at the slightest stress? Often it's just self-inflicted. But it can be fixed!

Bad habits are uncontrolled neural connections that have gotten a little lost. It turns out that many actions we do simply because we are so used to it. Try to realize this and get rid of anything that's dragging you down.

10. Stop setting expectations

Life brings joy when the reality around us exceeds our expectations. But the opposite can also happen. So you have to remember that with inflated expectations, the real situation may turn out to be worse. And if that happens, you will be depressed. Don't set expectations in advance.

11. Dopamine is a cheapskate

The brain saves the happy hormone for new information. And doesn't want to spend it on the same rewards. If you buy one iPhone 10 every month, you won't get that surge the second, third time like you did the first time you bought it. It turns out that dopamine acts as a push, motivating you to achieve something new.

12. Discomfort Signal

Cortisol, unlike the other hormones mentioned, brings pain, not joy. But it is still important, because it is a beacon indicating that you are doing something wrong. At times like these, stop, analyze the situation and try to apply some of the conclusions above. I hope they will help you!

There is happiness!

And to find it, you have to look inside yourself. Almost literally. Now you know you need dopamine, endorphin, oxytocin, and serotonin to do that. You also know how to cause them to rise. So what's next? 

Share in the comments a recent incident that made you really happy. What do you think influenced it? Write out and apply a few of the book's conclusions to your life, otherwise you'll just forget them.

This was a review of the book "Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin, & Endorphin Levels" by Loretta Graziano Breuning.