What Makes You Happy?

To be honest, before I was sick, I never gave much thought to what made me happy - I guess I just took my happiness for granted. 

It wasn't until I found myself completely miserable, that I was forced to think about what usually made me happy, in order to try and dug myself out of my hole.

At the time, thinking of things that made me happy felt like an impossible task; it felt easier to wallow in self pity.

 Now, I see the true value in thinking about what makes us happy when we are feeling healthy because then;

A) We are less likely to take these things for granted.

B) We are more likely to make time in our life to do the things we love, instead of always doing the things we feel like we should be doing, or what others love.

C) We will feel empowered to be able to say 'no' to things that we don't love doing.

D) We have a strategy to know what to 'do' when we find ourselves stressed, or 'unhappy' that even for a short period of time, can make ourselves feel calm, at ease and feeling content, and stops things from blowing out to bigger and worse problems.

So my question to you today is, what makes you truly happy?

When I asked myself this question I came up with a list:

1. Having the time to sit and read a book of my choice, without interruptions or feeling 'guilty'.
2. Sitting in a candlelight room, snuggled up with my partner on the couch.
3. Writing a blog post because I want to, and not because I feel like I have to.
4. Creating awareness about topics that usually go undiscussed.
5. Taking a long bath full of bubbles.
6. Eating out for date night, where I get to spend quality time talking with my partner.
7. Sunshine.
8. Calling a friend instead of texting or Facebooking.
9. Getting enough sleep.
10. Taking on a challenging task (and trying to give myself praise for giving it a go, even if I fail at the outcome that I'd first sought out to achieve).
11. Full belly laughs.
12. Eating chocolate.... in moderation...if I ate too much then I end up feeling guilty and 'fat'.
13. Playing netball.
14. Making something special for someone.
15. Going to the beach and lazing around on my blow up bed in the water.
16. Drinking a nice glass of wine and savouring the taste.
17. Playing board games with friends and family.
18. Giving myself permission to have alone time and empty spots in my Calender.
19. Buying something new, but within reason and within our budget.
20. Having a full tummy.

Some of the things that make me happy may seem very simple. 

Some of the things that make me truly happy, might make you screw up your noise and think 'ugh', as you couldn't think of anything worse!!!

But I guess that's the point.

Not everything you like, others will like. Happiness doesn't have to be anything 'big' like buying a new car, or going on a massive overseas adventure.

Often when we think about it, the things that truly make us happy are the little things.

Want to put that to the test?

Well I know that I am incredibly unhappy if I haven't had enough sleep, my belly is rumbling and I haven't spent enough time with my partner, nor if I haven't given myself the chance to breath because I'm too busy!!!

So your challenge is to think about what truly makes you happy. You might write these down on a piece of paper, or in your phone, or you might just make a mental note of it.

Whatever you do, I think this works best if you have something to 'refer back to' when you feel overwhelmed, stress or unhappy, or even when you are feeling 'happy' and you're looking for something to do from your list!!!

Look after yourself and those around you,

Kirsty xxx