10 Ways to Happiness.

Everyone seems to be jumping on the get-happier bandwagon. Happiness is making headlines, selling books, inspiring scientific studies and spawning laughter clubs and joyology workshops. The reasons? As the burgeoning field of positive psychology has shown, happy people thrive. They're more creative and productive, earn more money, attract more friends, enjoy better marriages, stay healthier and even outlive their grumpier peers.

So, you want to turn that frown upside down? Why don't you follow the steps below to make your own day?

1. Be less virtual, more 3-D.
If there's one thing that separates happy people from ridiculously happy people, it's the quality of their social relationships. If you sit at a computer all day, get up and indulge in some human contact instead. Even time with strangers ramps up your sense of well-being.

2. 4, 6, 8...who do we appreciate?
Making a list of things you're grateful for may seem silly, but it's been proven to work. In fact, counting your blessings may be the single most helpful thing you can do for your happiness quotient, that's what the experts said.

3. Rack them up.
Think of every positive experience during the day as a bead on a string, and see how they add up. This simple exercise makes you focus on even the smallest positive moments, like a fellow driver waving you to go first at a junction, or an e-mail from a friend in a spam-filled in box.

4. Think memorable, not material.
If you have to choose between, say, a new car and a family vacation, pack your bags. Even the sexiest sports car becomes routine overtime. But the memory of a good time with friends and loved ones will last forever.

5. Go to the funny side.
Watch reruns of classic shows that never fail to make you laugh. Try to smile at the absurdities of life. And when you read the jokes somewhere or anywhere, laugh out loud.

6. Escape to your stress-free zone. Think of a place where you always feel calm and happy. Then, when you're tense and miserable, call it up mentally, with as much detail as possible. Smell the suntan lotion. Feel the sun. Hear the sea. Play this video in your mind when your spirits slump.

7. See the glass as half full.
Whenever possible, try to look at the bright side. You might be feeling like your life right now is one giant downhill slope. But if you stop and assess it honestly, you'll see you actually have it pretty good. And if things truly are against you. see No.8.

8. Find your inner artist.
Think back to when you had time for creative expression. Were you in a rock band? Did you write poetry? Did you love tinkering with cars? Remember feeling so engaged that you lost track of time? Why you pick up that Fender (or fender) again? Joyful expression can bring happiness.

9. Do something good.
Acts of kindness, however small, deliver as much pleasure to the giver as to the getter. For example, a real paper-and-pen letter, telling someone who has helped you how much it meant to you, is a surefire cheer-upper. So is giving time, money or both to a good cause.

10. Seize the moment.
Rather than waiting to celebrate a big event, why not do it today? Bake a cake. Take someone out to lunch. Buy pink nail polish. Have sex in the afternoon. Open that bottle of wine and raise a toast to a good day. Go ahead, be happier.

I realized that by working hard to keep a lighter tone, by taking time to be silly, to laugh more, to sing every morning, I managed to bring about deeper changes in myself - more loving and considerate feelings and actions. That's why it's a duty to be happy. When I take the steps that will make me happier, I'm far better able to make other people happier too.

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