The Cozy Chicks | Cozy Up To Some Killer Books

The Secret to Happiness?

I just read an article that said the secret to happiness was, basically, to be happy. It’s a rather simplistic answer, yet, after I thought about it, I could see the sense in it. If you want happiness, choose to be happy.

Wait, you’re saying. Sometimes it’s impossible to choose to be happy. You’re sick, or overworked, or stressed out, or bottomed out financially. It can be a gray world out there. What’s there to be happy about?

I had a revelation the other day. A young member of my family is serving in Iraq, so I sent her a care package of things I knew she liked. She e-mailed back to thank me and tell me that having a cup of green tea and a square of dark chocolate after lunch was Nirvana. In all that chaos, she was happy sitting down for five minutes for her tea and chocolate break. And it struck me that I felt the same way when I took a break from my writing to have a cup of green tea and a piece of chocolate. Half a world apart, in completely opposite situations, we were happy because of the same simple things.

What makes you happy? And don’t say money. Of course it makes life easier, cushier, but I’m sure you’ve read the studies about people in poverty poor areas reporting the same levels of happiness (or unhappiness) as the very wealthy. And studies of lottery winners find that having riches beyond their expectations often leads to divorce, acrimony, isolation — unhappiness.

So let’s narrow it down to what really makes us happy. For me, it’s little things like that tea and chocolate break. Or taking a writing break during the day to watch a home decorating show. Or getting a phone call from one of our children just to say hi. Or going to an arts and craft fair on a sunny summer Saturday afternoon. Or picking out paint chips for a new wall color.

I suspect that for all of us, it’s little things that really and truly make us feel happy. So what’s the secret of happiness? Maybe it’s just taking time to do those little things.

What makes you happy? What do you look forward to? Going to a movie with a friend? Reading a good (Hint: flowershop) mystery? Planning a vacation?Buying new lipstick?

In any case, have a week filled with little bits of happiness.

Kate

14 Responses to “The Secret to Happiness?”

Kate,

Seeing my mom’s boyfriend’s two grandsons makes me the happiest. Heck, all they have to do is say my name and I’m on Cloud 9! You should’ve seen me the first time the oldest asked me to do something for him when his mommy was right next to him and he could’ve just as easily asked her. Also, having a day to myself makes me happy…..It doesn’t happen often though…no matter how many times I tell my family I need a day to myself every once in a while, they just don’t get it. Coming up with a great idea, working something out or completing a project always makes me happy too….And retail therapy is always good for my mood. And at Christmas or my birthday, the fact that my brother will ALWAYS without fail get me the right gift/card makes me happy. He’s also been known to call me just to tell me a favorite movie of mine is on…He still knows me better than anyone. We don’t get along most of the time, so the fact that he calls me to tell me when a movie is on still shocks the heck out of me. Lastly, the song “Seasons in the Sun” always makes me happy for some unknown reason. I don’t know why, but even though it is a sad song, it has the opposite effect on me.

by Traci on January 27th, 2008 at 2:48 am
Kate,
I do a lot of journaling. When I need a lift I go back and read what I have journaled. Maybe it was a vacation journal that transports me back possibly years to a time and place with friends or family. Maybe it is just an everyday entry journal and I can see all of the blessings I have had over that time period. Gardening definitely makes me happy, tea from Murchies & my favorite homemade scones with a great book are right up there also. When I am writing poetry I also get such a feeling of hapiness, probably because my poems are about family.

by Ealasaid Cameron on January 27th, 2008 at 8:28 am
Green tea and dark chocolate make me happy, too! Both are treats I receive from friends and send them in return. It’s always nice to meet more kindred spirits. That, of course, also makes me happy. In truth, it really doesn’t take that much to be happy if we recognize it starts with little split seconds of joy.

Happy Sunday!

Dani
http://blogbooktours.blogspot.com

by Dani on January 27th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
I love meeting friends for luch or dinner or coffee or whatever. For a quick “happy” injection, I love to escape to the movies.

by Maggie on January 27th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Coffee and chocolate, movies based on Jane Austen books (by the way, PBS is running a six-week series showing all-new versions of these films. There are three Sundays left, so grab some tea and a blanket!), a book that lingers long after I’ve closed its cover, when people I love laugh.

by JB on January 27th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Thanks for the tip, JB! Jane Austen makes me happy. And what a great idea to reread those old journals. I kept diaries when my children were babies and I’m so glad I did. Those little funny things they do get forgotten — and those are the things that will always make me smile.

Movies also make me happy — except when they’re bad.

Speaking of that, we saw “The Walker” today. It didn’t make me happy. :-/ “June” on the other hand, did.

Kate

by Kate Collins on January 27th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
What makes me happy? I love finishing things. It’s so exciting to put that final touch on something and know you did your best. ( I just don’t seem to get there with some things. ) I love risking and meeting goals. I love being relaxed enought to take walks with the dogs and actually see what’s around me rather than being lost in my head. I love it when I write and the words just flow rather than when I’m fighting for every word.

Really good chocolate, dark, rich coffee, and a great meal. Or just sitting on the back porch with my honey with a beer watching the fireflies.

by Lynn on January 27th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
First and foremost, animals make me happy…particularly my lovely tortie Tara. Sitting on the couch, with her happily purring in my lap, reading a cozy mystery and drinking hot chocolate is pure bliss to me. Other little things such as baking, Starbucks mochas, decorating for my favorite holidays Halloween and Christmas, Halloween and Christmas movies and TV specials, getting the newspaper and reading my favorite cartoon strips Garfield, Get Fuzzy and Mutts, watching NASCAR races on the weekends…it truly is the little everyday things =)

by Melissa on January 28th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Writing a scene that I’d been dreading only to find it was easier than I thought. That makes me very happy. Other than that, watching my children play in the snow and discovering snow angels as if they were the first on the planet to do so.

by wendy roberts on January 28th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Riding horses, playing with my daughter, when one of my kids smile and laugh with me or even at me, nice lotion or perfume, a glass of good wine and a piece of cheese and crunchy bread, cooking for my family, reading a good book, yoga, meditation, dancing in my kitchen and singing at the top of my lungs, petting my dogs and cats, getting projects finished, talking on the phone with a friend. Those things make me happy.

by Michele on January 28th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Sitting outside in the sunshine in my backyard, playing with my dog, the sound of my husband’s car pulling into our driveway, Harry Potter movies and books, reading, chocolate, watching the ocean, traveling, having a meal with relatives/friends, hiking with my husband, a comfortable blanket, the sound of the heater turning on, the cozy chicks blog, and getting home at the end of the work day. Those things make me happy.

by Linda on January 29th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Isn’t it interesting that when you actually start to list the little things that make you happy, you discover that there are a lot of them? And that it doesn’t take a lot of money for most of them?

Sometimes I see on the Today show the list of 100 year olds, and wonder what their lives are like. I’ll bet they’d report exactly what we did — that they look forward to those little things everyday, too.

Right now, I’m looking out at the Gulf of Mexico, watching pelicans dive for fish. (Did you know they flip upside down?) I can sit here with my cup of tea, watching those funny birds, and feel such a sense of happiness. I wonder what that is.

Kate, pondering

by Kate Collins on January 29th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Kate, I could have gone on and on with my “happiness” list. It definitely is true that many of the things on the list don’t cost much and are basically just simple things. What will make me happy today is getting home and taking my dog for a walk. It rained here the past few days, so I am anxious to take her out. She loves her walks so much, and just seeing her happy, makes me happy.

by Linda on January 29th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
[...] don’t know if you caught Kate’s blog last week, but it really struck home for me. She was posting on happiness — a precious commodity in our [...]

by The Cozy Chicks | Cozy Up To Some Killer Books on February 13th, 2008 at 1:01 am

The Secret to Happiness?

14 Responses to “The Secret to Happiness?”

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