People Who Seem Strangely Happier Than Everyone Else Tend To Follow These 5 Common-Sense Rules
Olivia Anne Snyder | Unsplash People who seem strangely happier than everyone else tend to follow the Pareto Principle (also commonly known as the 80/20 Rule), which is a simple rule that states that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your efforts.
Like any arbitrary model of reality, the 80/20 rule has its pros and cons, but it is generally a beneficial perspective to take on much of your daily life.
- What 20 percent of food options do you eat 80 percent of the time?
- What do you spend 20 percent of your time doing that brings you 80 percent of your happiness?
- What 20 percent of your social network do you generally end up spending 80 percent of your time with?
- What 20 percent of your clients bring you 80 percent of your results?
- What 20 percent of your movement or exercise habits bring you 80 percent of your health?
- What 20 percent of your things do you actually use 80 percent of the time?
- What 20 percent of the things that you do in your relationship bring 80 percent of the joy, love, and connection to you and your partner’s lives?
- What 20 percent of your restful habits bring you 80 percent of your relaxation?
- What 20 percent of the supplements do you take that you notice 80 percent of your results with?
I could go on for another few dozen examples, but I think you get the point. While I tend to steer away from paint-by-numbers approaches to life’s complex issues, I want to share some of the common-sense rules that people who are happier than everyone else tend to follow.
People who seem strangely happier than everyone else tend to follow these five common-sense rules:
1. They drink a ton of water
As one of my early mentors, American entreprenuer Jim Rohn often said, “Easy to do, easy not to do.” Not drinking enough water results in sleepiness, general fatigue, headaches, negatively impacted libido, constipation, patchy memory and verbal recall, acne breakouts, and more undesirable outcomes.
Researchers followed nearly 2,000 older adults for two years and found that the people who stayed well-hydrated kept their brain function sharper than those who didn't. Drinking enough water results in more energy, alertness, flexibility, increased libido, having an easier time falling asleep and staying asleep, improved cognitive function, and healthier, more vibrant skin.
80/20 Rule life hack: Buy a water bottle that you love, and drink 2-4 refills of it per day, depending on size.
2. They eat lots of vegetables
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If you make half of your plate vegetables for all three of your meals every day, you will be a healthier human being. And by healthier, I mean you will think better, sleep better, connect with people more easily, have more desire for intimacy, and be more successful in life.
It isn’t difficult to assume the impact of this single habit throughout your life. If you mainly eat vegetables, you will have an easier time in life. If you mainly eat burgers, you will not have as easy a time.
80/20 Rule life hack: Eat more vegetables with every meal. Ideally, half of the physical volume of food you eat at every meal will be vegetables. Cooked veg, raw veg, blended veg, greens powder. It all helps.
3. They walk everywhere and anywhere, ideally in nature
We are the most sedentary we have ever been, and we spend more time indoors than we ever have. Forego the occasional elevator, car ride, or taxi, and walk somewhere. Walk across town. Walk up the stairs. Walk in a forest, if you have access to one.
When you look at a bird, it is obvious that its body was meant to fly in the air. Similarly, when you look at a human, it is equally as obvious that it is meant to walk — and yet we let machines do so much of our walking for us. Researchers have also put nature walks head to head with city walks and found that walking in natural settings actually lowered people's depression and anxiety, while walking around urban areas didn't have the same effect.
80/20 Rule life hack: Literally just walk anywhere. Ideally in nature. As close to daily as possible.
4. They invest in close friendships
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Likely, the emotional fulfillment that you get from a select handful of your friends brings you more joy than the 80 percent of others with whom you don’t enjoy spending time. Over the last two years, I made making friends one of my greatest priorities. I set the intention, put in the effort, and found a group of people that made my heart sing.
Now, when I decide who I’m going camping with, who I should invite to karaoke, or who I should call up late at night when I’m stressed/struggling/needing support, my decision is already made for me. I have found my humans, and I love them dearly.
If you have dead weight to cut in your sprawling and distracted social life, do that. Conversely, if you have friends whom you have been wanting to invest in more than you have been, then do that.
80/20 Rule life hack: Find a small group of people whom you absolutely love, and invest more of your time, energy, love, and resources into them.
5. They find something both fun and profitable — and then quadruple their efforts
In other words, follow your bliss, but make sure that it is a bliss that the world is willing to pay for. The main reason that my website has become as successful as it is is that I stubbornly refused to do anything other than what I wanted to do (writing and coaching people 1-on-1) from day one.
If you love writing, start a blog or start releasing books on Amazon, and keep doing that. If you love giving people massages and people love paying you for massages, keep massaging. If you love city planning, designing bridges, drawing comics, or making vegan cheese... well, you get the idea. Do the thing that stokes the fire in your belly, do it well, and people will find a way to pay you for your efforts.
And if you are quick to tell yourself that there is no money in doing what you love, have you tested that theory? Seriously. Have you really, truly given it an honest, extended try, or is that just a convenient excuse that you hide behind because actually putting yourself out there and doing the work is massively confronting and challenging?
You spend a significant portion of your life working — are you going to phone it in and do something that just lets you get by (when we have literally never been in a better time and place as a species to make our life work something that also pays our bills)?
80/20 Rule life hack: Make your passion into your career. Fight to make this a reality in your life, because life is too long to be spent doing something you hate.
That’s it. Water, veggies, walking, human connection, and aligned work. And if these five tips seem dead simple, well, that’s the point. Small hinges swing big doors. By putting genuine and consistent effort into the force multipliers in your life, you will see a positive impact ripple throughout the various pillars of your life.
Jordan Gray is a five-time Amazon best-selling author, public speaker, and relationship coach with more than a decade of practice. His work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, Forbes, The Huffington Post, Women's Health, and The Good Men Project, among countless others.
