Happiness Happens

What makes you happy? August is Happiness Happens Month and is dedicated to celebrating anything and everything that makes you happy. Happiness is a choice, and being happy doesn’t mean your life is problem-free. Happiness is a life-long pursuit and requires you to make a conscious effort to appreciate and recognize the things that make you happy. Happiness happens one small moment at a time, and it’s important to acknowledge these moments. Celebrate this month by taking stock of your life, thinking about the things that make you happy and sharing this joy with others.

In 1998, Pamela Gail Johnson founded the Society of Happy People (SOHP), with the goal of encouraging people to share their happiness without fear of judgement. In 1999, the SOHP started an annual Admit You’re Happy Day on August 8th, and members decided to extend the celebration to the whole month of August in 2000. The holiday is based on the idea that happiness is contagious and sharing it can bring joy to others. It encourages people to talk and think about what makes them happy, and it emphasizes healthy habits that can help people find happiness.

According to the New York Times, behavioral scientists have been hard at work studying what makes us happy. What they’ve found is that happiness can not only predict health and longevity of life, but that each of us has the power to improve our own happiness. The habits listed below are proven techniques you can use to enhance your overall happiness and moments of joy.

• Make other people happy: You can elicit smiles from others with simple gestures: hold a door, make a phone call, send a kind message or a handwritten letter, smile at a stranger, send flowers or bake cookies. The list of ways you can spread cheer to others is truly endless, but be sure to mention it is Happiness Happens Month and that they can pass it on! Seek out someone to thank or compliment for a job well done. When people know how much we appreciate or admire them, it exponentially increases happiness, not only for them but also for us.
• Recognize and dispute negative thoughts: It’s not about trying to never have a negative thought, it’s about acknowledging them, owning your worries and cutting off the endless negative dialogue by disputing yourself with facts, evidence or alternatives. For example, ask yourself “Am I basing this thought on fact, or could I be projecting, misinterpreting or escalating the situation in my mind?” Try leaning on a friend to gain a different perspective. Negative thinking happens to all of us, but taking the time to slow down, acknowledge the thought and dispute it with factual evidence or alternatives is a huge step in the right direction.
• Practice gratitude: When practicing gratitude, you acknowledge the goodness in your life. Expressing gratitude, whether silently to yourself, written in a journal or out loud to someone else, can boost optimism and is strongly correlated to feelings of happiness. Gratitude helps us relish good experiences and build strong relationships. It could be as simple as being thankful for nature, a sunny day, your family members, friends, coworkers, pets, a hot meal or a roof over your head. There are endless things to be grateful for if we take the time to notice them.
• Volunteer: Helping others or volunteering your time for a worthy cause has been shown to reduce depression and improve optimism, resilience, ability to bounce back from setback, happiness and self-worth. Volunteering can also positively impact your health by lowering blood pressure and decreasing mortality rates. A study by the University of Exeter found that volunteering can prolong your life and improve your mindset and life in big ways.
• Get moving: Movement goes hand in hand with increased happiness and better health. Physical activity, even as simple as gentle walking, helps your body release feel-good endorphins. These endorphins reduce anxiety and depression, improve overall mental health and flood your body with happiness.
• Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation is an extremely significant and often overlooked health problem in the U.S. Not getting enough sleep has been shown to negatively impact almost every system in the body, including memory, concentration, metabolism, nutrition choices and your attitude/mindset. Not getting enough sleep undermines our emotional functioning, decreases the ability to be in a good mood and increases the risk of anxiety. Sleep loss also results in fewer positive emotions such as joy, happiness and contentment. For the best results, aim to get seven to nine hours each night!
• Give yourself a break: Self-care is essential for our overall happiness and well-being. Make the time to take breaks while working, connect with family and friends, create a relaxing environment at home, get enough sleep, eat well and exercise. Engaging in a self-care routine can reduce anxiety and depression, eliminate stress, improve mood and increase happiness.

As summer winds down, take the time this month to be aware of the ways you can make yourself and others around you happy. Go for a family bike ride or hike, sleep in on the weekend, start a new book, get a massage, write a letter, acknowledge what you are grateful for, meditate, do some star gazing or just enjoy an ice cream cone with someone you love. Happiness is about being able to make the best of the good times, so that you can cope with the bad times. Life is full of ups and downs. Enjoying moments of happiness can lead to a wide range of benefits that can enhance our overall well-being, health, relationships and more.

by Caitlin Kemmerer