IT’S one day to November, and with the end of the year looming things should have already clicked into place for you personally, professionally and spiritually, and everything should be coming together.

If not, there’s still time to find, and fit, the keys to happier living into the locks of your life so you can end the year on the high you planned to at the beginning of 2022.

Here are five ways to have everything coming together positively in every area of your life from life coach and actualisation specialist Yolanda Livingston.

Get in touch with your spiritual side

Whether it’s God, yoga, meditation, soulful prayer or praise, having a healthy spiritual life will give you a sense of peace, balance and satisfaction that will help with the challenges that will come in other areas. For many people the path to spirituality comes after some kind of struggle and suffering, and often includes experiences that are frightening and painful. So, take care of your mind and your body, and get closer to this part of yourself as a first step to living happily.

Forgive, even if you don’t forget

Seething, holding bad thoughts in your heart about other people, hatred and anger do nothing but contribute to your own poor emotional well-being. Holding on to hate for someone who has done you wrong can make you yourself suffer from poor mental health, including depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts. So, find a way to bounce back from the hurt and frustration you feel and seek to forgive them, even if you don’t forget what they’ve done, as a second step towards happier living.

Don’t covet

So your neighbour is doing an addition to her house, your other neighbour just upgraded her car and her child is attending the school you wish yours had passed for, and still another neighbour’s husband is doing for her what yours won’t. Stop watching others and focus on yourself and your life, because you don’t know if what appears on the surface is reflecting what happens behind closed doors. Be comfortable with who you are and what you have, have your own goals to look forward to, and when you stop coveting and being “red-eye” and grudgeful, you’ll complete the third step towards happier living.

Connect with others

No woman is an island — and even if you like being alone, companionship and socialising is important. Sometimes it’s even when talking to others and trying out new things we see that many other people are dealing with the same pain and fears that we are, and it gives us perspective. So, connect with others — friends you may have lost touch with, colleagues at work, and even family you haven’t communicated with in years — as the fourth step towards happier living.

Be part of something bigger

Finally, do things for others and be part of something greater than your own existence. Join a social club; read to or tutor the kids in your area, and even prepare a gift bag or two for a children’s home or even the family of the people who work for you. Drop some items in the care box at your church, give a few coins to a beggar — the point is, you have to do things for others and live unselfishly as the final step towards living happier.