How to be naturally happy ... Part two

Implementing positive changes makes a tangible difference to you, and ripples out to those around you. Photo / Thinkstock

The more we can observe character traits, habits of thought and deed that mark out happy people, the easier it is to choose to take on one or more of those habits ourselves.

Following on from last week, here are seven more things happy people have figured out. Choose which would be the most life-enhancing for you - moving the needle the most on your personal happiness gauge.

8 Happy people celebrate other people's success. They don't get resentful or jealous because they know the world is an abundant place and there is more than enough of the good stuff to go round.

9 Happy people don't get stuck in comparisonitus. They stay in their own lane. They know that habitually comparing ourselves to others is a sure-fire way of feeling bad: there will always be someone richer/smarter/thinner/more efficient/older/younger than us. It matters not if we stay in our own lane and focus on making the most of our own strengths and opportunities.

10 Happy people move on. If a door no longer leads somewhere, they close it and look for an open door elsewhere. They do not spend all their time and energy looking at the closed door. They nail it shut and move on.

11 Happy people don't try and control other people. They stay focused on their own stuff rather than interfering in how others "should" live their lives.

12 Happy people relinquish the death grip on "perfect". Continually striving for "perfect" is the biggest happiness killer. Often when asked what "perfect" is, most people can't actually define it as a measurable standard, or it's so ridiculously high and rigid that no one could reasonably attain it and live it consistently. Chasing "perfect" is a recipe for failure and self-imposed misery. Happy people know and accept this. They shoot for "perfect" on a few carefully selected tasks, but the rest of the time know that "progress" is a much more livable standard.

13 Happy people get comfortable feeling uncomfortable. They learn to tolerate and accept temporarily feeling uncomfortable in order to process it, learn from it, then release it. They don't try to avoid feeling it by overeating, drinking, drugging. They respect their feelings as valuable messages that need to be acknowledged, not blocked out.

14 Happy people expect the best. They approach the majority of situations with the mindset and expectation that it will work out for them. They look for the best in others and in circumstance - and guess what - more often than not that's what they find.

Want to be happier? Try integrating just one of these habits and see how it makes a tangible difference to you, as well as the ripple effects out to those around you.

For the first part of Louise's happy people feature click here.