This month is my birthday. I have decided to make it a whole month of Happy, as in happy birthday.  It is after all, America’s birthday too. So, I decided to do something every day this month that would make me happy. Sounds simple, right?
Before I made this decision, of course, I had to research what actually creates happiness and what doesn’t. (There goes the simple!) Something I discovered, much to my husband’s delight, is that buying/acquiring new stuff is only a momentary happy, nothing that lasts very long. In fact, buying something new can become part of the new normal and have no impact or worse, there are reasons that it can actually rob you of happiness.
So, what does make one happy? Having a connection with others is first on the list. This includes our families and friends. Improving those relationships helps to improve our lives. Good health is another contributor to happiness. It is actually a drain on our happiness when we avoid taking care of our health. Getting our finances in order is helpful. It isn’t that money can buy happiness, but rather that creating a budget and living within it lessens our stress. Eliminating clutter can leave us more time and space for creative thinking and living. Having and fulfilling a purpose is important. Each of these concepts can be further broken down and that is what I am working on this month.
Day one of July, I made my Happiness Proclamation. I decided that I would do one thing each day for the sole intent of creating a happier life. I was about to embark on my personal Happiness Happenings. I posted this on Facebook, making it “official”. Next, I decided to go out to lunch with my husband. This would help me begin my effort to improve an already good relationship. We had a delightful meal and actually ran into someone who knew us when we first met. This allowed for some fun reminiscing.
Knowing that good health is important, I went for a bike ride. The ride was a good amount of exercise in the sun. I ended up at my favorite dolphin watching spot and was mesmerized by the dolphins.
Day 2 of my Happiness Happenings I remembered that spending money on others brings more joy than spending it on yourself. It is almost the 4th of July holiday and I hold sessions in a doctor’s office where there are several women, many of whom have young children. On my way there I stopped at a fireworks tent. I bought a few things for each of the employees. As I delivered them, I told each person that this was my Katy Perry impression of Firework. They all smiled and laughed and I felt happy!
De-cluttering is on my list. During the month of June, with Let It Go Day being a special day, I began the practice of 3 a day must go away. Every day I found at least 3 things to give away or throw away. By months end, not only had I eliminated 90 items from my home; I would venture to say it was more like 900. Still, there is more to be released. Therefore, I am continuing the 3 a day through the month of July.

I am writing this very new into my Happiness Happenings process, I plan on updating what I have done. However, I ask you dear reader, what makes you happy? What small changes in habits can you start in order to bring more happiness into your life? If you were to be happier, regardless of how happy you are right now, how would you be different?