That’s the opening line of The 5 Minute Journal, a gift given to me on my 55th birthday from my dear friends, Mary and Joe. Since opening it, I’ve been giving the whole happiness thing some thought. A year later, as I celebrate my 56th birthday this week, I wanted to share some thoughts on happiness with you.
Mary and Joe at my blog launch party
In all honesty, I get accused of being too happy by friends and family. People often ask my husband, “Is she really that happy all the time?”
Maybe happiness is genetic. My sister-in-law, for instance, says my brother wakes up everyday with sunshine up his butt! Or maybe it’s that we both watched our father struggle with depression, then conquer it, and teach us the importance of celebrating each day.
I know a great deal of my happiness is based on my faith. Andy Stanley, our beloved paster at North Point Community Church, recently did a whole series on happiness. A few great take aways are:
- Pursue happiness over pleasure
- Happiness is not immediately accessible
- Happy people have peace with themselves, others and God
We are all unique, with our own needs and dreams, so naturally we gravitate toward different ways to make ourselves happy.
I think we can choose to be happy in five minutes, but depending how we choose to live will determine our real happiness.
Here are a few tips to get started...
● Get out of your comfort zone
● Start a conversation with a stranger
● Try yoga, meditation, prayer
● Volunteer, give your time and energy to others
● Take a dance class, an art class, learn a language
● Spend more time with the special people in your life
● Or, like me, start a blog at 55, with no time or proper writing skills, but a passion!
Surprise yourself! Find things you never knew could make you happy! Or better yet, make someone else happy.