The Quest of a Curious Muslim — Page 110
HOW CAN I BE HAPPY? 110 volunteering more in your community, and so on. Sometimes spending more time with family and friends can help boost your mood as well. If you want to boost your mood by yourself, take up more physical activity. Exercise is a great way to relieve any stress you may have. It can range anywhere from yoga and a hike to swimming and playing a sport. You can also boost your mood by taking up a new hobby through something creative. This can include painting, cooking, and even drawing. A very easy fix to try and be happy is to be positive. If you wake up and look at everything with a negative outlook on the world, you will ultimately not feel great about your day; however, if you look at life in a positive manner, you may be able to see the good in things. This is closely associated with the concept of shukr (gratefulness) which is heavily emphasized in Islam. Allah says: ﻟ َ نئ ِ ۡ ﺷ َ ک َ ﺮ ۡ مت ُ ۡ ﻻ َ َ ز ِ ﯾ ۡ ﺪ َ ﻧ 7 مك ُ ۡ That is, “If you are grateful, I will, surely, bestow more favours on you” (Holy Quran, 14:8). An immediate result of gratefulness is that we realize