1. Give your body the food it needs. So many people spend their lives exhausted, fighting off colds, or battling with controlling their weight. Humans are evolutionarily designed to crave fats, sugars, and carbohydrates, but they are far more abundant today than they ever are in nature. Maintaining a diet that replenishes nutrients spent throughout the day, instead of simply filling the gap with sugars and caffeine, will result in not only increased energy, but better moods, healthier visage, and even a weight that befits activity levels. A nutritionist is not necessary to determine all of this, simply be smart; fruits and vegetables instead of beef jerky and donuts.

2. Walk or ride a bike whenever it is humanly possible. Everyone knows the physical benefits of exercise: increased circulation, better sleep, healthy weight. However, getting out of the car or train as often as possible has more far-reaching effects. Breathing in fresh air and feeling sun is a free shot of vitamins and a natural combatant to bad moods and will aid in improving your life. Walking down a street is a great way to be a part of the community one lives in, and riding a bike can lead to organizing a group of friends with similar hobbies.

3. Find a creative outlet. No person alive lives a stress-free existence. From the clothes we decide to wear to trying to afford the latest and greatest to keep up with the neighbors, there is stress from the instant of waking to the moment of sleep. Keeping all of this inside can lead to not only bad moods, relationship problems, and poor social interaction, it can cause serious physical diseases. Instead of carrying a load of stress, spend half an hour or as much time as is free on painting, writing, sketching, playing an instrument–anything that can put a voice to those problems. Even if the results are less than professional, the feelings of relief and pride in the work done will be reward enough. Over time, who knows–you could be the next Picasso.

4. Discover a group of friends or peers to share a hobby. Often people may find a hobby or some other activity that they find particularly enriching. But when they hit a wall or get stuck in a rut, they abandon it and never return. Forming or joining a community with the same interest will help to maintain an active interest and improve skills in that hobby while at the same time creating new, potentially life-long, interpersonal bonds.

5. Do not dwell on past mistakes. Everyone makes them. Moping around will only create a space wherein those bad moments never passed, but are continuously relived. Try to look forward and imagine a future where those mistakes are impossible to make again. Then make that future a reality one day at a time.

6. Remember that money and gadgets are fickle, but that there exist permanent pillars of happiness. Letting money and technology get the best of us is a product of this modern age. Always checking in on our friends and spending paychecks to have the hippest new gear can grind us down and make us forget about important things. Instead of buying a big screen television, plan a camping trip with family or friends. Instead of saving up for a faster laptop or a new iPod, plan a trip to somewhere never visited before. Make your own horizons and never look at anyone else’s.

Improving the quality of life is easy for anyone. One must only keep in mind that every new place visited, every new skill acquired and shared, every new friend made is an enriching experience more than any pay increase ever can be. The cliché calls it a rat race for a reason–escape it and evolve into more human goals. Plant a garden, eat more vegetables, take the dog out for a longer walk on sunny days. These are the simple secrets to happiness, and the rest takes care of itself.