HAPPINESS CAN BE…
1. Watching a TV show from your childhood and laughing at all of the jokes you didn’t understand.
2. Forgetting to study for a test, and class gets cancelled.
3. Using the last piece of toilet paper, and not needing any more.
4. Turning on the shower and getting the perfect temperature on the first try.
5. When a shipping time is estimated at seven to ten business days and it arrives in four.
6. Peeling dried glue off of your fingers.
7. When the song in your car ends just as you pull up to where you are going.
8. When Hot Chocolate is just cool enough to drink on the first sip.
9. When you forget to turn your phone off in a funeral, meeting or a movie, but it doesn’t go off.
10..When you tell someone he or she is the reason for your happiness and look at the joy in their eyes
11. Accepting who you are, as you are, right now, in this moment.
Life isn't always easy. Sometimes you need a little help to boost your happiness.
12. Happiness is letting go and experiencing abandonment.
13. Playing in the backyard, fully dressed, soaking wet with water from a water gun fight with laughing, screaming children. Who cares what the neighbors think or see or the wet footprints in the house? Water cannot wash away the memory of laughter and the children shouting, “You can’t catch me…”
14. Pampering yourself. After a warm bath or hot shower, apply a nice scented lotion, crawl under the sheets and a warm blanket and think of how lucky you are. You’ll fall asleep and wake up feeling soft, rejuvenated, refreshed and rested with a smile on your face.
15. Quiet time. Every morning sit somewhere – preferably outside if you can – and say thanks for being alive. It lifts your spirit up. If you get down during the day – stop and feel grateful again for a few seconds or a minute. This will keep you in perfect peace.
16. Taking action beyond your comfort level. Do something that you’ve wanted to do but haven’t dared yet. If you fail, at least you were brave enough to try, and if you succeed, the joy will be immense.
17. The simple act of tidying up around you. Tidying up and cleaning your surroundings may be a boring task you’ve been dreading for a long time. But when it is done, your mind will be more at peace, you will feel proud of yourself for doing it, and you can focus on accomplishing the next, big task. You may not be able to solve the world’s problems, or even your own, but with clutter free surroundings your mind will feel clutter free and you stand a better chance of solving a few.
18. Appreciation – Realizing you woke up on the right side of the grass.
Trim & treat. Eating a chocolate bar after a hard workout at the gym. It’s the best reward for a hard workout. Almost guilt-free too.
19. Homemade hot chocolate. Milk, semi-sweet chocolate, sugar, cinnamon, and one egg. A warm cup of cocoa will warm the heart, ease the mind and put a smile on your face.
20. Write a family storybook. Let your little ones illustrate and write their own storybook using their family members as the main characters. After the story is written, give them plenty of utensils and paper to illustrate their story with. Have a big finale reading of the storybook after dinner in front of the whole family.
21. Stop nagging. Everybody thinks nagging is unpleasant. You might be afraid that if you stop nagging, your partner or kids would never do a thing around the house. Wrong. If anything, more work will get done and you’ll get a surprisingly big happiness boost from quitting nagging. And everyone around you will be happier too.
22. Tune out the news. For one week go without reading the newspaper, watching the news, or scanning the headlines online. Take a vacation from the misery we’re exposed to every day. One week may turn into 3 months and you’ll still get the most important news from friends and family.
Looking at pictures from happy times can make you happier in the moment
23. Awesome pictures – Looking at pictures or art that are breathtakingly beautiful and create awe. Pictures that expand your imagination, make you inhale and hold your breath. There is so much beauty to enjoy in the world that you have no time for being unhappy.
24. Being alone – Venture off for a pleasant solo picnic to your favorite place
25. Walking in the fog – Next time you see fog, go for a walk. It gives you a calming, dreamy, walk-in-the-clouds type of feeling. You can lose yourself in your thoughts and the world is silent.
26. Tea tasting – Have you ever gone tea tasting? Escape inside a teashop and sample a selection of loose-leaf teas. It will warm your body and nourish your soul.
27. Simply smiling – Sometimes when life get’s hard, it’s difficult to find something to elevate your mood. Then smile. This may seem backwards because we are accustomed to smile when we are happy, but the converse works as well. Smiling can actually make you happy. So next time you are feeling down, smile!
Smiling may improve your mood!
28. Learning a craft – Happiness is often achieved through work, and learning a craft definitely brings happiness. Through the process of trying to master a craft, one slowly begins to become one with the craft. In the end, a new skill is achieved, which can be creative, practical and exciting. Some crafts known for eliciting positive feelings are origami, crocheting, learning an instrument, and even video games!
29. Board games – Even though games like solitaire or minesweeper can be fun, there is no better feeling than beating a friend at a game of chess, or getting rich in a game of monopoly. Board games have always been bringing joy to friends and families, and now they are making a comeback. If you aren’t a fan of board games, group card games work just as well.
30. Micro lending – Most people give to the needy, but it is more fun to give money when it is used in a great way, for instance to transform someones life. Many times, those in poverty do not want free money anyway, they simply want an opportunity to show their usefulness to the world. In comes micro lending. In micro lending, you give a small loan to someone in poverty that allows them to start or improve a business. They can use their skills to try and improve their lives with your little help. Slowly, but steadily, they might repay your loan. Since it is a loan instead of a gift, this encourages interaction between you and this other person. The interaction assures you that your money is being used to improve the life of the other. This makes both you and the other person much, much happier.
Exotic food can lift your mood!
31. Exotic Foods – Many of us grew up with a cuisine that was stereotypical of our culture. When you step out of these cultural boundaries, you’ll find hidden culinary gems. It can be delicious and exciting!
32. Exercise – Jogging, bicycling or walking fast has been scientifically proven to be a happiness booster. The high level of activity increases the amount of endorphins in your body. Endorphins make you lower stress, and increase happiness.
Exercising will most likely make you feel happier
33. Discovering new music – Ever get a smile when you hear that new song on the radio that you simply fall in love with? Many people do. Nowadays it’s easier to find more music and artists you will love with YouTube.
34. Reading a new book from your favorite author – You know you’re in for a treat. Laying down by the fireplace and opening up that new book is a true pleasure.
If you have other ideas for happiness boosters, please don’t hesitate to submit them…
