Finding Your Happy

A huge shout out to my good friend Laur (whose paleology101 blog I have linked to my page!) for bringing me in to the following challenge:

FIND YOUR HAPPY!

What is it? 100 days straight of finding something – anything – to smile about, no matter how stressed out, busy, sad, annoying, chaotic or downright apocolyptic the day. The link to the website is here: http://100happydays.com/#what. Each day, participants in the challenge will post pictures, quotes, words, updates, etc. on various social media sites indicating what made them happy that day, no matter how big or small. It could be a good cup of coffee, picture with friends, pet, pretty sunset, your bed – anything! At the end of 100 days, if successfully completed, participants get an option to receive a booklet capturing their 100 days. Sign me up!

Why do I think this is important? As somebody who’s had a very hectic couple months trying to get a thriving practice up and running, there were many days I forgot to smile. Not only did I forget to smile, but I forgot to recognize that life was still handing me nice moments amidst the stress. I notice this is something that seems to challenge my clients – finding their happy.

Being happy is something that, actually, should come pretty easy to us. After all, in any given day, how many times do you read something funny on Facebook, laugh at a TV show, enjoy a song on the radio, etc.? Then BOOM – before we know it – the phone rings, the baby cries, the bills pile up, your co-worker says something snarky, you fight with your significant other, and the warm fuzzy feelings are gone. Turns out, it’s really hard to sustain happiness.

Trouble is, when we don’t sustain it, our minds get used to operating in a stressed-out state. We’re just anticipating the next let down. Kind of sad, isn’t it? I think this challenge pushes us to anticipate the next thing that will make us smile, instead. Sounds like a much better way of living, to me. I really encourage everyone – clients, friends, family, co-workers, and strangers alike, to give this a try. Let’s get the dopamine (happy hormone!) flowing and remember that no matter how dark, there’s always a glimmer of light to get us through it.

Happy Happy, everyone! And stay tuned for my weekly posts on how the #100happyday challenge is going. You are welcome to follow me on Instagram at cmlangan #100happydays to get a glimpse of my happy pics, and please comment if you decide to take the challenge and post yours!

---