10 Easy Things That Will Make You Hap­pier, Backed By Sci­ence
themindunleashed.org/2013/10/10-easy-thi…t-will-make-you.html

…we sci­en­tists have found that doing a kind­ness pro­duces the sin­gle most reli­able momen­tary increase in well-​being of any exer­cise we have tested.

#6 Help oth­ers – 100 hours a year is the mag­i­cal num­ber


#9 Med­i­tate – rewire your brain for hap­pi­ness
Med­i­ta­tion is often touted as an impor­tant habit for improv­ing focus, clar­ity and atten­tion p, as well as help­ing to keep you calm. It turns out it’s also use­ful for improv­ing your hap­pi­ness:

In one study, a research team from Mass­a­chu­setts Gen­eral Hos­pi­tal looked at the brain scans of 16 peo­ple before and after they par­tic­i­pated in an eight-​week course in mind­ful­ness med­i­ta­tion. The study, pub­lished in the Jan­u­ary issue of Psy­chi­a­try Research: Neu­roimag­ing, con­cluded that after com­plet­ing the course, parts of the par­tic­i­pants’ brains asso­ci­ated with com­pas­sion and self-​awareness grew, and parts asso­ci­ated with stress shrank.

#10. Prac­tice grat­i­tude – increase both hap­pi­ness and life satisfaction