17 May 2021

"In every life we have some trouble.
But when you worry you make it double.
Don't worry, be happy" 🎶

First of all, tuuuune. 

There will always be annoying days where everything seems to go wrong, from spilling your breakfast down your shirt to missing the bus. Lonely days where you feel like everyone is having a blast but you. Sad days and blue days. 

This might be a weird way to look at it, but in a wack way, I'm a little glad we have low days. I mean, without cold, we'd never know what 'hot' is. Without darkness, we'd never know what 'light' is. Without sadness, we'd never know what 'happiness' is. These days make us appreciate the good days all the more. 

So what can we do to be little happier? I'm glad you asked. 

1. Acts of Kindness

A recent study shows that people are happier buying things for others than they are for themselves, and another discovered that volunteers see greater benefits than the people they’re helping. What does that tell us? We thrive when we're selfless! 

Could you help your brother make a diagram for science? Help your mum make dinner? Could you help a friend paint their room? 

Could you even do some volunteering? Or donate money to a local charity? Helping others really can help yourself. 

2. Let's get physical, physical

Come on. You know it. I know it. Exercise is great for physical health but also your mental health too. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins - ‘feel good’ chemicals.

I'm not saying you have to spend the price of Jesus' tears on a gym membership or run so fast that your legs fall off. Instead, find a physical activity that you vibe with! Learn to surf. Play footy in the park with your mates. Do YouTube yoga videos. Go for long walks whilst listening to a podcast. Get physical in your own way.

3. Hobbies over TV

After a long day of school or work, a lot of us tend to end up on our comfy couches, watching TV. 

Sure! We all deserve some Friends re-runs or a Harry Potter marathon here and there but actually challenging yourself is wayyyy more rewarding to your sense of self and happiness.

What I'm really saying here is, start prioritising your hobbies! Whether you give an old one some love or find a new one, working on something makes us feel productive and full of purpose. 

4. Drop dollars (but not just on stuff)

Money sometimes can buy happiness... if you spend it on doing rather than having. Sure, a boujee new pair of shoes or a brand-spankin' new laptop feels red hot buuuuut the happiness is kinda short-lived. Those new shoes get dirty and your new laptop becomes mundane. C'est la vie. 

Spending money on activities and experiences, however, provides long-lasting happiness and memories.

Whether it's dropping dollars on skydiving, a road trip or a concert... The anticipation, the actual event and then the long-lasting memory, is so so sooo powerful.

 

So, start looking for some events near you, plan a travel adventure or look for things you never would have thought of doing (like ice-skating or snowboarding).

5. Appreciate

Seeing the world with a cup-half-empty rather than cup-half-full mindset will never end well. I mean, you attract what you put out there. If you're constantly complaining, always seeing the worst from a situation and beating yourself up about the smallest things, your mental health will probably follow suit. 

If you put good vibes out there (which I know sounds like mumbo-jumbo, trippy-hippie smack), you'll attract good vibes. If you love to play the guitar, play the guitar! If you love to write, write! If you love to sit outside, sit outside! Appreciate the little things in life that make you happy.

Become self-aware and appreciate the little things that make you happy. I like to write down five things I'm grateful for, no matter how big or small. 

Fun fact: this is backed by science. The Journal of Happiness published a study that used letters of gratitude to test how being grateful can affect our levels of happiness: Participants included 219 people who wrote three letters of gratitude over a 3 week period. Results indicated that writing letters of gratitude increased participants' happiness and life satisfaction while decreasing depressive symptoms.

You deserve to be happy. I'll repeat that one more time for the people out the back. You deserve to be happy! Look after yourself, attract good vibes, appreciate what you have and go send it.