How to Be Chill and Learn to Live a Happier Life as a Result

When you learn how to be chill, you’re happier, healthier, and life is good! And doesn’t that sound like a better way to live?

Stress is a dangerous thing. It’s not just feeling a bit overwhelmed or deciding you need a glass of wine, it’s about your health, happiness, and overall wellbeing. When you’re constantly strung out, it does nothing for you. Instead, it makes you miserable. By learning how to be chill, everything improves.

You reduce the stress hormone coursing around your body which reduces your risk factors for serious diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and chronic inflammatory conditions. You reduce your chances of your mental health being severely impacted. Put simply, you can smile a lot more easily without that sinking feeling following it up in the background.

[Read: How to be more positive and increase the quality of your life]

Learn how to be chill in 12 relaxing ways

Learning how to be chill isn’t easy, especially if you’re someone who is used to being stressed out and perhaps a little negative that it’s become second nature. The good news? Here are 12 relatively easy ways you can learn how to be chill. They will make life far better as a result.

#1 Limit the amount of news you watch. Okay, you watch the news occasionally to stay up to date with what’s going on, but you don’t need to set up news alerts on your phone and constantly check your news apps for the latest developments.

There is little positive news around at the moment. A constant drip of negativity isn’t going to help you calm down or feel particularly great about the world. Instead, just check every so often, perhaps once a day if you really need to know what’s going on for your job or simply for interest. [Read: Is negative thinking ruining your life?]

#2 Limit your social media too. Everyone loves to scroll through their news feeds. But, did you know that social media addiction is a real thing? It leads to unhealthy comparisons with other people. When you consider that the things you see on social media are rarely true, you’re basically comparing your life to something fake. You’ll always come up short. It will make you feel pretty terrible. 

#3 Understand that saying ‘no’ isn’t a bad thing. One of the biggest steps you can take when learning how to be chill is to feel completely okay saying “no” when you don’t want to do something or don’t have the time to do something. You don’t have to agree to everything just to be approved of or liked. Of course, you can’t say “no” to everything, especially in a working situation but if you feel like you really want to, just do it! [Read: 12 ways to ignore someone who mentally stresses you]

#4 Try mindfulness meditation. Meditation isn’t something everyone feels comfortable with, mainly because it’s got a reputation of being hard to master. It’s true that cutting out the chatter in your mind is hard to do, but mindfulness is a great option. It simply allows you to be more present in the moment. When it comes to learning how to be chill, that’s ideal.

Firstly, you’re not always thinking back to things you can’t change in the past. Secondly, you’re not worrying about the future. You simply observe what’s going on without feeling the need to react and do things which is key to feeling a lot calmer and happier. [Read: How to be present and find your zone of perfect calmness]

#5 Focus on getting enough exercise. You don’t have to join the local gym and pound the treadmill if you don’t want to. It can be as simple as going for a walk in nature occasionally, but by focusing on exercise, you become calmer, less stressed, and you’re healthier for it too. Grab a friend and go for a walk, take the dog out, or join a sports club. Simply move your body more and get your heart rate up slightly.

#6 Take up a new hobby. Remember that feeling of pride and accomplishment when you learn something new or when you complete a creative project and it looks great? Recreating that feeling is the key to how to be chill!

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to draw, check out YouTube videos or buy a book. If you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, download an app or go to a class. Taking up a new hobby will give you a sense of calm and make you feel great about yourself. [Read: How to feel better about yourself – 20 small steps for big results]

#7 Focus on experiences rather than things. Materialism is a huge issue and causes stress. Always needing to own the latest iPhone, best clothes, fanciest designer bag, can push people towards money problems and associated stress.

When you learn how to be chill, you focus upon experiences rather than the desperate need to own the latest stuff. Think about travel, spending valuable time with loved ones, etc. [Read: How to handle the pressure to live life to the fullest and thrive]

#8 Make time for TLC. It’s not lazy or indulgent to focus on yourself. Honestly, it’s one of the best ways in terms of knowing how to be chill. Make sure you get enough sleep, relax, do the things you enjoy. TLC is good! Self-care is something we all should focus more time on and not something you should feel even slightly selfish about.

#9 Adopt a ‘what will be, will be’ mindset. Positive affirmations are ideal for building a more positive mindset but ‘what will be, will be’ helps you to handle problems as they come your way and not become stressed or caught up in the moment.

Mindfulness can help you with this, but positive affirmations are ideal too. Find an affirmation or mantra that fits with your situation and repeat it throughout the day. [Read: Millennial burnout – Are you suffering from wanting to do too much?]

#10 Take your negative thoughts and flip them around. Reframing your negative thoughts will help you learn how to be chill because you’re not constantly eaten up by the ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes.’ When you notice that you’re having a negative thought, replace it with something positive and repeat it. The more you do this, the more effective it will become, so stick with it!

#11 Identify any toxic individuals in your life. Do you have a friend or a colleague in your life who simply suck the life out of you? Do they use you? Maybe they always drag you down with negative comments.

Identify those people. Either kick them out of your life or minimize the amount of time you have to spend with them. You’ll feel instantly better as a result. [Read: How to tell if a friend is toxic and brings unhappiness to your life]

#12 Get rid of your to do list. You might think that a to-do list is a good way to stay organized. In some ways, it is, but if you’re a slave to your to-do list, you’re going to forget what’s going on around you. Put down the list and look around.

Focus on achieving things and enjoyment rather than ticking things off a list. You’ll notice that you instantly feel lighter and happier. Sure, it’s nice to be organized, but it’s not the be all and end all of life either.

[Read: The uncomplicated guide to your secret to happiness]

When you learn how to be chill, you focus on the important things. Changes won’t happen overnight. Stick with it, focus on a positive mindset, and watch the effects grow slowly over time. It’s worth the wait!

The post How to Be Chill and Learn to Live a Happier Life as a Result is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.