True happiness is more than just a passing fancy or emotion. That’s not to say that it can’t certainly be deeply connected to our emotions, but true happiness runs much deeper in many ways. It’s something we tap into rather than “find,” and it’s something we often unconsciously sabotage.

Happiness is often something that develops as we can manage to set aside our desire to control and manipulate our way through life. If we choose instead to look for natural ways to facilitate happiness make efforts to tap into those outlets, it can quickly lead to a life of laughing, loving, and genuinely peaceful contentment.

With that in mind, let’s look at just a handful of the ways that happiness naturally bubbles to the surface in the world that surrounds us and how we can take steps to “plug in” to it. From the atmosphere of our surroundings to how we think and what we do, here are a few natural ways to turn that happiness factor up a notch throughout our lives:

Hygge

One of the hardest times to stay positive is during the dreary winter months. From extensive periods of cloud cover to shorter days, it can be genuinely difficult to see the good in things during the cold months.

That’s where the Danish tradition of hygge (pronounce “hoo-ga”) comes into play. The word, which serves as both an adjective and a noun in Danish, describes an atmosphere of calm coziness. From glowing candles and flickering fireplaces to comfy sweatpants, fuzzy blankets, and a hot cuppa between our palms, creating a sense of hygge throughout our homes can be an excellent way to embrace the cold and naturally elevate the happiness of our abodes.

The Great Outdoors

It’s hard to exaggerate the benefits of a stroll outdoors. The fresh air, the feeling of the wind on your face, the sounds of the birds in the trees — a walk down the road or through a local park can be just what the doctor ordered. It lifts the spirit and helps us break away from the stuffy, cloistered feel of our bustling workplaces or busy home life.

One especially helpful element that Mother Nature brings to the table is the sunlight. A natural source of vitamin D, just a quarter of an hour in the sun can help provide a significant mental boost, better sleep, and a general healing of our bodies.

Exercise

Exercise has long been touted as a natural way to fight depression. While sadness and tragedy are genuine things that occur throughout our lives, the concept of becoming depressed over our circumstances or past situations is a dangerously slippery slope that can lead to very dark places.

Taking the time to exercise can be an excellent way to fight back against those dark thoughts. There are numerous ways to get that blood pumping, including jogging, biking, walking, rock climbing, hitting the gym, playing pickup soccer, and so on.

Use Oils

Oils are a tried and true way to naturally help one find happiness. Lavender essential oil, for example, can help provide solid sleep and a healthier state of mind. CBD oil is another common contender in the happiness game. From reducing anxiety and alleviating depression to improving both sleep and cognitive function, the use of CBD oil can be an excellent natural option to improve your mental health.

Maintain That Sex Life

Many people find it’s important have a healthy sex life and to remedy any sexual dysfunction. If this is the case for you, a well-balanced presence of sexual intercourse in life can help promote a physically, emotionally, intellectually, psychologically, and even socially healthy lifestyle. Naturally, keeping so many aspects of life in good working order can yield very positive benefits to one’s overall happiness.

Turn Up the Volume

The capacity for music to move us, touch our deepest emotions, and even quite literally heal us makes it a powerful tool. It can help ease pain and anxiety and invoke powerful memories. While music isn’t universally capable of stirring directly happy emotions (on the contrary, there are many beautiful songs that have quite the opposite effect), the purposeful application of meaningful music in our lives can be an excellent way to increase our happiness on a daily basis.

Fight the Good Fight

One of the more difficult elements of increasing happiness for the long term in our lives is choosing it in the first place. The idea of choosing to be happy can be extremely difficult to maintain over the long term — it requires practice and learned behavior.

A good starting point is to simply try to maintain an attitude of gratitude, reflect on our blessings, and look for the best in every situation. It’s important to understand that those who are positive don’t accept that they’re “stuck” in a negative situation. They always look to improve and see the positive side of things rather than stew at what they perceive to be their “fate.”

It can also be helpful to take the time to meditate. This doesn’t have to be an intimidating, overly spiritual experience, either. It’s simply an important way to take the time to acknowledge the sacred and happy elements of our lives. As a word of warning: Don’t allow time spent in deep thought to become an exercise in wallowing in our past regrets and hurts. We must strive to keep our minds directed towards the positive!

Serve Others

Socially connecting with others is already a great way to increase our happiness. But the act of genuinely serving someone out of selfless love can foster one of the greatest senses of happiness that life has to offer. When we truly abandon what is best for ourselves in the pursuit of taking care of others, we tap into a unique level of happiness that is difficult to find in any form of self-focused care.

Don’t Be Afraid to Play

As J.M. Barrie wrote in Peter Pan, “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” It’s critical that we don’t lose the ability to play, imagine, and make believe as we go through the trials and challenges of life. Responsibilities can be a heavy burden to bear. And while it’s important that we don’t abandon those responsibilities, it’s also critical that we take the time to maintain our own childlike wonder and delight as we go throughout our daily routines.

Live Now

We must do our best to live in the moment. We shouldn’t be afraid to let go of the worries and concerns for tomorrow in order to focus on what’s in front of us today. When the future clouds the present, it can be one of the worst ways to dampen our enthusiasm for life.

From our mental state to our physical health and the condition of our environment, there are countless ways that we can tap into happiness as we go through life. The most critical piece of the puzzle, though, is ourselves. If we don’t take the time to look for natural ways to increase our happiness, we’re likely to find ourselves wallowing in sorrow and self-defeat in no time.

Instead, it’s important to take time to facilitate happiness in every way we can. This can be done by fighting the good fight, combating the negative thoughts, getting some exercise on a regular basis, serving others, and keeping our minds sharp and our imaginations bright. When we do this, we can rise above despair and experience the wonderful happiness that life has to offer.