7 challenges to make this your best week yet

https://www.happier.com/blog/7-challenges-to-make-this-your-best-week-yet

Practical tips to make this week seriously awesome.

Amp up your week by taking one small step each day and you might just find you’ve made one giant leap towards happiness. Try these 7 challenges, and savor each one as you learn a few tips on how to be happier this week:

Day 1: Perform one selfless act. Whether it’s helping out a stranger or someone near and dear, it doesn’t matter — just do it. When you positively affect someone else’s life, you’ll positively affect your own, too.

Day 2: Try one new thing you’ve never done. We’re not talking skydiving here, (although that’s cool, too). It can be something simple like taking a new class at the gym or striking up a conversation with a stranger, but mix up your routine. Variety is the spice of life.

Day 3: Treat everyone nicely (even if someone is super rude to you).  We’ll admit it: this one’s tough. But you’ll be amazed at how much better it feels to respond to rudeness with kindness. By not doubling-down on the attitude, you might actually be that person who turns their day around with positivity, which feels pretty amazing.

Day 4: Get rid of 5 things you don’t need. Decluttering your space has the amazing ability to make life feel just a little bit lighter and brighter. It feels so good, in fact, that it might be hard to stop at just 5. Our advice? Let it ride and purge away!

Day 5: Do something that makes you laugh. The act of laughing changes us physiologically. We stretch different muscles and our pulse and blood pressure goes up, sending more oxygen to our tissues. In short, it’s a mini-workout. Whether it’s hanging with a pal who’s guaranteed to crack you up or hitting up YouTube for the cat video du jour, you’ll be glad you did.

Day 6: Try one 5 minute meditation. Meditation sounds lofty and unaccessible and something that only people with lots of free time can do. It’s not. In fact, the benefits you’ll receive by meditating just 5 minutes a day makes it the best 5 minutes you’ll spend on anything. Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Day 7: Savor something you enjoy. We’re all constantly multitasking, but it’s a bad habit that’s actually making us less productive. Aaack! But by slowing down and truly appreciating the experience at hand, each thing we’re doing becomes memorable and small memorable things add up to making us a whole lot happier than when we rush through life absent-minded and distracted.