Today while walking my dogs, Trent and Parker, through the neighborhood, I received a little message from the universe. (It was a chalk drawing on the sidewalk.) It said, “Be Happy.”
We often forget that it is up to us to choose to be happy, so today’s message was an excellent reminder for me. Happiness does not come from outside sources; it comes from within. How you think about your life’s circumstances determines your level of happiness. If you choose to think happy thoughts or take happy action, you can feel more joy.
That being said, there are some ways that you can work to increase your capacity to feel happy.
Take a walk or run outside. In his book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor, teaches that spending time outdoors in the fresh air can improve your happiness. A study found that spending 20 minutes outside in good weather broadened thinking, improved memory, and increased happiness. The American Meteorological Society published another study that found that happiness is maximized at 57 degrees, the exact temperature today when I walked the dogs.
Spend some time with family and friends. Spending time with people we care for is a fast path to happiness. Smiling, laughing, and sharing life’s stories add to feelings of security and belonging. Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychology professor, says, “We are happy when we have family, we are happy when we have friends, and almost all other things we think make us happy are actually just ways of getting more family and friends.”
Spend time helping others. Spending time and money helping others has been shown to help us feel more happiness. Living generously brings feelings of satisfaction and wellbeing, making us feel happier than people doing things for us. Martin Seligman explains that helping others can improve our own lives; he says, “scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in wellbeing of any exercise we have tested.” Think about different ways to serve and give, including your time and money. Helping other people will ultimately help you.
Work on your smile. Today, when I saw the sidewalk chalk, I smiled. The surprise of finding the “Be Happy” message, and the lovely day with my dogs, made me feel happier. It has been proven that smiling improves your mood and even the fake smiling that we do when acting friendly and social causes more happiness. There is a link between your face smiling and the thoughts that cause you to feel increased joy. So try on a smile or laugh to be happy.
Dr. Julie Cappel
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” —Omar Khayyam.
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