August is happiness month. Happiness. The tranquilizer to mood swings, enemy of hate, and sister to joy. Happiness is a choice. We live days of confusion, joy, hate, loneliness, and happiness. It is the human experience. But it is up to us to condition ourselves to live a world of joy, of peace, of growth. We may not be able to control every aspect of life, but as my eight grade teacher made us recite a poem, I recall these famous words, “Life is 10% what happens, and 90% how you react to it.” Below, I listed 5 ways of making yourself a little bit happier.
Buy a plant and watch it grow
By buying a plant, you are caring for your mental health. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are watering, and watching your plant grow. In the same way, you can give yourself time and space to grow as well. You will be surprised how happy you will be once you see how your plant is growing.
Look at the stars at night
Nature is beautiful. Really any time gowing outside, taking a walk, looking at the sunset, or gazing at the stars is good for you. Not only do you find beauty in the world around you, but you also breathe in fresh air. Even if it’s just for 20, or even 10 minutes a day, breathing pure air is healthy and is a great way to relieve stress. You will learn to look at the beauty of such little things (or big) in life, and you will become healthier in the process. Looking at nature is also a good way to contemplate on your thoughts and feelings.
Write down words of gratitude
Write one thing you are grateful each day and record it. Whether it;s buying yourself a jar and putting sticky notes inside, or writing your gratitude in a journal-write words of thanks each day. This helps you realize how blessed you truly are, and increases levels of dopamine. Not only that, but you can always go back and reread all that you wrote before. You can contemplate your blessings on a daily basis, but also see just how far God has brought you from past experinces.
Buy yourself a treat
It’s good to treat yourself. Whether it’s buying yourself a drink from Starbucks, getting yourself that really cool book, going shopping, or getting yourself a manicure, you need to know how to love yourself. Treat yourself with the highest respect and allow yourself to be happy. Through the big things and the small, take care of yourself, darling,
Breathe
Stress, anxiety, and depression are not foreign concepts. In fact, they are more common in our society nowadays and are more common than not. Apple users know that the apple watch tells you “breathe,” a few times a day. It is true. We can get so caught up in the everyday activities in real like that we forget to breathe at times. Breathing for at least 1 minute a day is actually beneficial.
Closing words
Allow yourself to display, to be, and to give happiness to yourself and others. Yes, we may not be able to control what happens to us in life, but it is how we respond that makes the difference. Take care of yourself darling. Be happy. Be positive. Be you.