I'm sitting up tonight reflecting on how truly blessed I am, and how every day I get a new chance to make this life what I want it to be. It's so easy to forget that we have the ability to make and spread happiness. A smile, a thank you, a loud laugh in a public space...all those things catch on. In the past few weeks I have found myself complaining a lot about being unhappy. I'm super homesick and I miss the positive people in my life back home. The problem is, I keep waking up every day expecting someone else to hand me happiness. It is very rare for life to just drop a bunch of happiness in our laps. And actually, that's not rare, it's just usually not what we're looking for and we have to work for it. I woke up today and nothing earth shattering happened to completely alter my situation in a positive way, so obviously the universe didn't send me a fat envelope full of greatness today, right? But I woke up healthy. I woke up with a whole cell phone full of people I could call at any given moment that love me and would help me through anything. I woke up with the ability to make somebody else's day. So why don't I? Well, that's kind of what this article you've been reading is leading up to.
I am in charge of my own happiness...but why hoard it? It's not hard to make my day, so I'm guessing I could easily make the day of the girl next to me in class or the guy at the bus stop. I'm making some simple "rules" although that word seems a bit heavy. They're more like steps. I'm making some steps for myself and you, if you choose to be a Happiness Guinea Pig (which is going to be more fun than I just made it sound...trust me)
1) I want to surround myself with beauty. This doesn't entail living in a garden or hanging out with models. It means appreciating the lives around me and pulling positive people into my life. Venting is therapeutic, but it's super easy to wind up complaining on a regular basis instead of commenting on a great idea someone shared with you, or telling a touching story. When I get the urge to complain, I'm going to think of something that makes me smile and pass it on.
2) I want to connect and give back. I'm on this planet with over 6 billion other people-how cool is that?! I want to know as many people as I can and grow from their experiences, as well as share my own stories and experiences with others. If we weren't meant to connect, we'd all live on separate islands in isolation and nobody would have invented the telephone or Facebook. Scary, right?
3) I want to openly appreciate the people in my life. Inwardly, I'm constantly grateful for my friends and family and all the amazing things they do for me and for others. Every once in a while we all need to hear a thank you. But it's equally important to give a thank you, since not everyone is a mind reader. There are some people who are natural givers. They do anything and everything they can for others and they'd do it regardless of receiving recognition. That's pretty great and saying "Thank you" is such a simple thing that goes a long way. Do it.
4) I want to fill my life with life. Trying new things, doing things that scare me (which does not mean juggling knives or anything), and simply saying "Yes!" to happiness. It sounds really easy, but it's so much easier to sit on our couches or write articles about happiness. I am twenty-two years old and most people (five year olds excluded) would say I'm still really young. And technically that's true, but I could have spent my time so much more productively. I have spent far too long waiting for life to hand me what I want. I want to be happy and I think we wake up constantly with a new definition of what that means. The only way to track that down is to chase it in all its forms. Tomorrows happiness might be achieved by watching a good movie, but maybe the next day, happiness entails hopping on a bus around town and seeing where I end up. That's what I mean when I say I want to fill my life with life.
5) I want to be nice to me. We aren't afraid to tell our friends and families how awesome they are, but when was the last time we told ourselves? We have the right to look in the mirror and say "Hey! You're a pretty great addition to this planet." How can we be happy with others if we aren't happy with ourselves? Be nice to you. You have to spend all day every day with yourself...love who you are, and if you don't, make it top priority to fix that.
I know you're probably wondering what is in my coffee. I promise I haven't spiked my morning tea with copious amounts of Zoloft or anything. I just realize there are a lot of really crappy people roaming around with claws out and teeth bared. I don't want to be one of those people, and if I let myself continue to be unhappy, I'll develop claws and fangs and walk around making others miserable. But I'd much rather make other people happy. I've learned that happiness is beautifully contagious.
For those of you that believe life isn't fair and there's nothing we can do about it, I think that's total crap and I'm calling BS. This life is yours, and mine, and the mailman's...and if we choose to make it better, it's going to be better. What does it hurt to try? So for the next few weeks I'm going to give and receive happiness in little ways, because I think the little things can make the biggest difference. I'm going to write about my little project and if you're doing this too, post about it! Welcome to the Happiness Experiment (and if that name is trademarked or something, please don't blow me in; I'd have to sell off organs to pay for the lawsuit and that would totally put a damper on this whole thing for me...Thanks!)
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