Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday, where I talk about something on my mind and invite you to link up and do the same. Today I'm thinking a lot about happiness.
One of the podcasts I love listening to is Here's Something Good. On one of their episodes this week, they talked to Sonja Lyubomirsky who is the author of The How of Happiness and The Myths of Happiness. Her widely cited pie chart on what determines happiness is below.
See what's below the dotted line? Fifty percent of our happiness is things we can control. FIFTY (50) PERCENT! And forty percent of that is internal state of mind - things like your attitude, gratitude, and optimism.
This is the time of year I have to dig deep to maintain a good attitude and stay happy. The dreary days of winter have set in and I'm not getting a lot of sunshine. Covid has added another layer of gloom over everything because we aren't traveling or getting together with friends. Here are some things I'm intentionally doing to keep a smile on my face ~
Gratitude
Every morning in the shower I think about three things I'm grateful for. They're not always big things. An example is yesterday one of my things was the fact that I would be drying off with one of my favorite towels. When I wrapped that big fluffy towel around me, it made me smile. Do you take time every day to think about things you're grateful for?
Volunteer / Give Back
At Christmas, we organized a donation for a senior living facility near our house. I decided that we would do this three times a year - Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Grandparents Day. The Christmas donation was a huge success! We are currently collecting for Valentine's Day and it makes me feel so good emptying the tote we placed on our porch for the neighbors to drop off their donations. Knowing that our efforts will brighten someone's day is enough to make me happy!
Do Something You Love
Have you ever really stopped to think about what things make you happy? For me, I know cuddling up with a magazine or good book does it. Connecting with friends is something else that totally fills my happy cup. Since covid, I've discovered some new things that make me happy like putting puzzles together and baking sourdough. What is one thing that makes you happy when you're doing it? What is stopping you from doing that one thing today? Make a plan to start doing more things that make you happy! It doesn't have to be big things. Maybe it's as simple as slowing down to truly enjoy that first sip of your coffee in the morning. We're in a pandemic people - lower the bar on what makes you happy and learn to enjoy the little things!
Let It Go
We all have things in our lives that the minute we start thinking about them, they bring us down. Try to let those things go! One of my new favorite companies is Natural Life. They put positive sayings on all kinds of things which serve as beautiful reminders to live the good life. Those little reminders keep my mind on track and pull me back in if I start to wander into negative territory.
We are all going to have days when sadness falls on us and we just can't shake the feeling. But there are things in our control that we can do to make happiness part of our day. Let's focus on what we can control. Let's have more happy days than sad ones!
Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today? Link up and share!
I definitely find mindset/ attitude and focusing on those things I am grateful for really do help elevate my mood.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Penny, this is such a cheerful place.
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Penny. You give such great advice on little things to do to improve our state of mind. Thanks for sharing and for hosting!
ReplyDeleteNiky @ The House on Silverado
PS. I'd love it if you'd share this at my Sundays on Silverado link party!
My husband and I were talking about happiness recently. I haven't been feeling happy recently and I kept getting stuck in regret. We talked about how everyone feels like they could have done things differently, and it's important to really understand what makes us happy, as opposed to what we think should make us happy. My mom is bipolar and I have a form of kind of a bipolar light, which makes depression a possibility at any moment. I'm in a good place now where I can see it coming and identify it when it's here, but for a large portion of my life I couldn't and I didn't understand why I couldn't control my happiness. I didn't realize it was genetic. I'm going to check out the two books you listed, I'm super interested in learning more.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Thanks so much for hosting! I’m linking up with my first RVers Linkup. Looking for blog posts about adventures, tips, and experiences RVing through the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
ReplyDeleteSo very true. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a very difficult year for me, during this pandemic. I am part of the vulnerable population and it's been a challenge to stay positive with the challenges I've been facing. But I refuse to give up and everyday I work on regaining some of the loss of happiness.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!