"When I was 5 years old my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment and I told them they didn't understand life."
Of all the things that we can be in our lives, one thing we all have in common is the desire to be happy. Today is the first day of Spring, and it's also International Day of Happiness! I always love the change of seasons, and especially springtime. For me, it represents a fresh new start and brings a lot of positive energy that revives me from a cold winter. I don't think it's any coincidence that today is also a day to celebrate happiness; either by doing things that make you happy, or by making others happy. A lot of people think that happy people are just born that way, and while there is some evidence in genetic makeup that some people are more likely to be depressed than others, there are a lot of key habits that we can do to become happier. In my video this week, I talk about a book by the social scientist and psychologist, Davin Niven Ph.D. In the book, he compiled 100 different stories and scientific research studies that outline the science of happiness. Today, I picked one to highlight about having fun. As a kid, we naturally played more. We didn't have as many responsibilities, and our main priority was to just have fun with whatever we did. It seems like as adults, we rarely make time to have fun. My challenge to you is to take time every day to make something fun, or do something fun. Dance around the kitchen while you make dinner, sing songs in the shower, play a board game instead of watching the news tonight. Whatever you have fun doing, do it! Science has shown that individuals who spend time just having fun are 20% more likely to feel happy on a daily basis and 36% more likely to feel comfortable with their age and stage in life.
So what are you doing to have fun today? What makes you happy, and have you done something today to make someone else happy?