Taking Things For Granted
Recently, I had an eye infection and my eyes were full of tears to the point that I could barely see. This was a wake-up call to value something I usually take for granted ~ my eyesight. Since I wear contacts to see, you’d think I’d remember to value my eyesight, but it’s something I simply take for granted. I just assume I can see once I pop my contacts in. In this case, I was grateful I had a pair of glasses because the contacts didn’t pop in for a couple of days, but boy was I happy when they did and I could see clearly again.
One of the side effects of founding the Secret Society of Happy People is that I’m pretty good at recognizing my happy moments. But that experience reminded me how many things I take for granted that I should be happy about.
I’m wowed when I really think about all of the little miracles that we experience when we wake up. Yawning and stretching to get our blood flowing, seeing the morning light, hearing our alarm and hitting the snooze button, feeling the floor next to our feet, walking and tasting water, coffee or tea. And this usually happens in the first 15 minutes of the day. We experience many little happy moments that we simply take for granted.
If aliens picked up radio waves from our conversations or the news, however, they’d be convinced we lived in a world where there is more unhappiness than happiness based on what we talk about. Our focus and conversations revolve around what’s wrong instead of what’s right.
Do more unhappy things happen than happy ones? Probably not most days. In fact, most days, if we really had to say thank you for absolutely everything that went right, we’d be saying thank you almost non-stop. The challenge is that so many things go right that we don’t even notice them, much less bask in the happy moment we experience.
Purpose of Happiness Happens Month
The purpose of Happiness Happens Month is to encourage people to notice all of their happiness, big or small, that happens every day. I’m really not trying to drive you nuts by asking you to notice everything that goes right and the happiness it brings all day long, but I would encourage you to do our 31 Types of Happiness Counter for an hour. Consider picking a day to do it with your friends or family, and have a dinner to discuss it. That could be a happy dinner conversation.
Happiness Happens When You Look For It
When we start noticing all of the happiness that naturally happens around us, then it’s easier to deal with the things that make us unhappy, and to create more experiences that make us happy. Happiness is a personal experience. Although happiness is contagious, we really can’t make someone else happy that doesn’t want to be. An unhappy person has to want to catch a little happiness. We are responsible for our own happiness, and others are responsible for theirs. It’s not our job to make someone else happy, and it’s not someone else’s job to make you happy. But when we can share our happiness, that creates a better world for everyone.
[Tweet “Happiness is a personal experience. We’re responsible for our own happiness! Join us for #HHM2014”]
Happiness Happens Month Activities
Happiness Happens Month is full of activities to help you see more happiness, because happiness does happen every day. Here are a few key activities but visit our website for more:
Become a Happiness Happens Month Ambassador ~ they have access to additional activities, graphics, social media covers, daily text and a private FB group
Participate in the Happiness Happens Month 31 Day FB Challenge
Join the Lemonade Brigade by midnight CST, Wednesday, July 30
Also, please take a few minutes to visit these pages. These people are helping making Happiness Happens Month possible:
Happiness Happens Month Sponsors
Written by Pamela Gail
Pamela Gail Johnson founded the Society of Happy People in 1998.
The Society is grounded on Pamela’s four key Practical Happiness Principles:
Pamela identified 31 Types of Happiness that are on the SOHP App Happiness Counter to make it easier to recognize moments of happiness.
Pamela also plans and organizes the Society of Happy People's annual happiness celebrations:
She's also a speaker, trainer, and author.
A few of her personal smile starters include her monthly book club, yoga, traveling and meeting new happy people.