Hello, I’m Morgan Meredith, and I’m pleased to join HealthyPlace as a new writer for Living a Blissful Life. I look forward to sharing the approaches and tips I’ve collected over the years to help create a more blissful life in the face of mental health concerns. Though at times I certainly struggle, my goal is to continue developing so that the moments of satisfaction and confidence overwhelm those bliss-killers.

There's power in habit. Habit creates your life. People who live a blissful life do not possess unique character traits that separate them from everyone else. They do not have more luck or brains or money. What people who live a blissful life do possess are powerful habits, and these habits help sustain joy and fulfillment regardless of what is happening in their life.

You can find inspiration in your everyday life. We certainly find inspiration in the person who overcomes obstacles to do something profound, a beautiful work of art or piece of music, or the magnificence of the Grand Canyon. These are definitely inspiring things. But you don’t need to go to a museum, visit a world heritage site, or learn about a famous person to be inspired. You can find inspiration in your everyday life.

If you do a web search of “breaking habits,” you will get over 30 million results about how to break bad habits (smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise, etc.). But recently, I came across the quote below by 20th-century theologian Henry Van Dyke, and it resonated deeply with me. It made me realize that habits, while often necessary, can be restrictive. Even if they’re not bad habits, you may want to consider breaking a habit that is not bad in order to grow a bit.

We all need to learn to live life now. Spending all of our mental energy focused on the past or the future means that we aren’t living in the present. We aren't living our lives right now, and, honestly, the present moment is truly the only time we have to live. Many of us are constantly distracted, but I'd encourage each of us to live life now and be fully present in this moment.

A flexible mindset can decrease disappointment and help you find bliss. Rigid thinking can be self-defeating. When you expect things to be a certain way and will be satisfied only when they are that way, you may experience a lot of unhappiness in life. If you can develop a flexible mindset, you will encounter less disappointment and more bliss (Coaching Flexibility To The Overly Rigid Child).

Start to live your purpose and choose your destiny now. Don't let life just happen to you. When you truly believe that you control your life rather than life controlling you, then you are free to choose your destiny. But, many of us spend years living as if life just happens to us. We live on autopilot, going through the motions without examining if how we live is truly how we want to live, if who we are is who we want to be. Let's talk about how to start to live your purpose

We all encounter struggles that can keep us from moving forward to bliss. Struggles can derail us from our goal of living a blissful life. But, if we keep moving forward towards bliss by taking care of ourselves despite our setbacks, we will eventually achieve bliss (10 Ways to Build Resilience).

If you practice appreciation you can increase life satisfaction. When you practice appreciation, you are acknowledging the worth and significance of someone or something. The act of appreciating enhances positive emotions (The Magic of Appreciation). So, if you want to improve your own emotional wellbeing and live a more blissful life, start practicing appreciation. 

If you want to improve your mental health, you should improve your physical health. You'll be pleased to know there is a direct association between sleep, exercise, nutrition, and emotional health. Individually, chronic sleep loss, lack of physical activity, or eating poorly can exacerbate symptoms of anxiety and depression. So if you want to improve your mental health, you should improve your physical health, too.