Happiness  -- It’s not reserved for Instagram. Or happy hours after work.

You can be happy any time, every day, if you act on creating it for yourself.

In fact, dozens of scientific studies offer proof how happiness can be cultivated.

Here’s a handful of ideas you might try to bring some extra joy and get stoked on life today:

• Positive actions for others yield positive results:
  Donating to charities, offering random acts of kindness, smiling or complimenting a stranger -- all of these simple actions you can do for others support happiness.
  When you create goodness, even if it’s not for yourself, you get to rest and live in that goodness, too.
   
• Stop and smell the roses
  Really! A study out of Rutgers University found that people who regularly inhaled floral scents reported being about three times happier than those who didn’t. 
  Maybe a trip to the florist after work - for a partner, family member or just for yourself - can help put a smile on your face.
   
• Happy are the hourly workers
  One scientific journal recently found that folks who earned a salary were less happy than those who cashed checks from hourly work.
  Does that mean you should quit your job if you’re on a salary? Not at all. But re-thinking and re-framing your relationship to your job - and creating boundaries to bring joy to your life after work could reap real rewards. 
   
• Relationships really are priceless
  The Journal of Socio-Economics discovered what you probably already could’ve guessed: relationship satisfaction was deemed more important than accruing $100,000. 

And all of these scientific findings are just the tip of the iceberg: bright colors, being outdoors, being around friends with a positive attitude -- they all also yield happiness more often than their opposites. Go figure!

So whether you’re feeling stoked or looking to feel a bit more positive today, look to science, and try a few of these suggestions. 

Chances are, your body, mind and heart will all thank you.