What Makes You Happy? [the beach] // The Great Outdoors
Yesterday, my friend Emily asked friends on Instagram to share what makes them happy, and I loved reading the responses. Since I'm home with a cold and could use a little cheering up, I thought I would ask the same question here--What makes you happy?Here is my list, in no particular order:The beach, a new sewing project, reading to my daughter, watching my husband go on adventures/read to/play with the kids, chocolate, the Instagram hashtag #honestcraftroom, California, family, sleep, hiking with my kids, riding my bike, flowers, friends, sewing friends, swimming, more sleep, Prius gas mileage, Instagram, and laughing with my sisters. I felt happier just reading others' lists and writing down my own, but apparently there is more of a science to happiness than I had otherwise thought. This week, my husband sent me a Huffington Post article by Jacob Sokol called 12 Things Happy People Do Differently--and Why I Started Doing Them. Go read the article and then come back....
Hi again. Sokol draws on research done by positivity psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky that suggests there are tangible things you can do to increase your happiness. Who doesn't want to be happier??? I have been a little out of sorts over the past week or two, so I picked a few from the list to focus on in the next month or so (1. Express gratitude; 11. Practice spirituality; 12. Take care of your body).There is something for everyone on the list, I think. For those of us who blog/read blogs #3 (Avoid over-thinking and social comparison) is probably a timely one.