Happy Monday Canna Fam,
I hope everyone had an amazing Easter Sunday!!! I wanted to cover a topic today that everybody can relate to, happiness. I think for most of us, the ultimate goal is to strive for happiness on the daily. If we all could just be happy 24/7, I am sure most of us would take this opportunity; but, just like most beneficial things in life, happiness takes a lot of consistent hard work. We also have to understand that happiness is not going to look the same across the board for everybody. We all have our differences that play a huge part in deciding what makes us happy at the end of the day. Throughout our lives, we come across many different versions of ourselves and many ways of being happy or finding happiness within the opportunities we’ve been given. Let’s start off by discussing happiness on a small scale, focusing on the little things that can bring a smile to your face.
I believe for most of us in life, we can appreciate the simple things. I think when people within our lives show in small ways that they are thinking of us or remember something about us, it can feel really good to be considered and turn into an overall happy feeling. For example, if you mentioned to somebody your favorite snacks and they then tried to make sure they had those next time they saw you, this would be one of the little things that would make you feel cared for and in turn be happy. For some of us, the small things may actually mean more than it does for others. Imagine you are walking down the street and a stranger smiles at you, is this alone enough to also make you smile and feel happy in that moment? They do say smiles can be contagious. Humans differ in what inspires them and motivates them to feel happiness. Are you the type of person who thrive off of the little things in life? Or is it the grand gestures that make you feel happier? I think perspective is a huge part of determining the level of happiness you allow into your life at the end of the day.
When you think of the way you approach your perspective on life, would you consider yourself more of a pessimist or an optimist? If you answered pessimist, how do you think this impacts your happiness overall? While I am definitely more of an optimist, I can imagine having a pessimistic approach to life could make it really difficult to find the silver lining in each day. If you do find this is the case, I challenge you to try and shift your way of thinking for the next month. If you find yourself leaning toward pessimism, flip your mentality and try and find positivity in each opportunity. Now on the other side of this, if you are more of an optimist, how does this impact your overall happiness? I think that being an optimist can be truly beneficial as long as you are also realistic with yourself. I would always suggest trying to find the goodness in each day and each opportunity, however sometimes you also have to accept when you are just having a bad day. Sometimes it is the bad days and the unhappy moments that allow us to dig even deeper into ourselves and come out even stronger for it. While happiness can be the goal, it is not a requirement to feel happy at all times on the way to that goal. The reality is happiness will come and go until you can really figure out the root of where your happiness ultimately comes from.
How do we maintain happiness within ourselves, while also maintaining happiness throughout society and within our personal relationships? If you have heard the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup”, you have probably thought about your energy levels before and whether you feel like you are trying to pour from a full cup or from an empty one when dealing with others. If you have tried to do it before, you have probably learned that it is nearly impossible to pour from an empty cup and if you have tried to master it anyway, no matter what it will eventually run out and completely drain you. Keeping a full cup is essential to not only your own happiness staying intact, but it is crucial to being able to fill anyone else’s cup in your life that you would like to pour into. At the end of the day, if we take the cup analogy out of it, what I am really trying to say is be careful with your energy. If you are at a low and have just given to much and need to refuel, it is extremely important to pause and do that before you ultimately deplete your happiness. This can impact you when it comes to parenting, relationships, your career, family dynamics, mental health, and so many other areas. If we want to ultimately be happy, and of course make others happy, we have to make sure we take care of ourselves first and foremost. This is when my previous blog comes into play on being selfish, and you can choose to focus on your own happiness before you worry about everybody else’s.
I want to end by sharing that I personally think staying in the present is a great way to maintain that happiness for yourself. So many of us find ourselves living in the past, whether it is letting people back in that should have had the door closed on them a while ago, or maybe it comes down to beating yourself up for a mistake you once made. We all have our ways of letting the past continue to haunt us. I invite you after reading this to try and let go with me. If you feel like there is any possibility your past is hindering your happiness in the present, find a way to take a deep breath and let one thing go. We cannot expect ourselves to go from sad to happy in 5 seconds, and we also cannot put expectations on ourselves that we won’t have off days, but what we can do is challenge ourselves to take control of our own narrative and try retelling our story. If you want to be happier, it starts with you. We will all have external things in life that are completely out of our control, but within our control, we can regulate our emotions and we can do the best we can do to maintain happiness at our core. Not to mention, it is easier to have a happy ending when you remember you’re the author!
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