happiness

Start With 5: Give Me a Better Title!

Published on September 3, 2019December 6, 2020 by The Five Minute MindLeave a comment

Let’s start this with a party pickle

I like good feelings, you probably like good feelings. This series is all about giving those underrated, overlooked feelings the credit they deserve- maybe making us both feel nicer along the way.

I’ve been super appreciative of how this series has taken off. If you’re reading this as one of the people who give these posts some love on social media, this one’s for YOU.

I’m Jordan, and here’s this week’s Start With 5.

1. When you’re really sweaty or dirty and you step into that nice, refreshing shower

I don’t know about you, but I am fairly pathetic when it comes to being dirty. My mother will be the first to tell you about how even as a little toddler when I played outside I would come running back to ask her if she could wipe the dirt off my hands. Meanwhile, my little sister’s waist-deep in mud and laughing. So maybe it’s not as relatable for you as it is to me, but man that shower feels great and even more so after a long, dirty day.

This guy gets it.

2. That fresh smell after it rained

This one is pretty straight-forward, and if we were just talking about showering ourselves, then we can appreciate when good old Mother Nature does the same thing. The presence of water actually carries smells more, meaning that we’re actually just able to smell the earth a little better.

Can you smell it?

3. When you’re cutting wrapping paper and the scissors start gliding

How satisfying is it when the scissors just start sailing through the paper, smoothly and accurately? I’m not the greatest arts-and-crafts fella, but when this happens it makes me feel like some sort of talented craftsman (definitely not what’s going on, I can assure you of that).

Thanks, Google Images

4. Going to bed with fresh sheets

Whether in a hotel room or your very own, when you hop into bed with a fresh set of bedding it just feels much more relaxing than when you climb into a hot mess of blankets. As I live in a house with four other guys, we definitely don’t wash our bedding as much as we should, but this is giving me a little motivation to get fresh with it.

Pre-bedtime mood

5. When that show you love comes back, or your favourite sports season starts up again

If you like Pina Coladas… and getting caught in the rain several hours of binge-watching TV shows, then you’re as stoked as I am when your favourite show/sport is back in action. Later in the evening, when you’re unwinding from your day, having that one show to entertain you definitely makes the night better.

I’m talking THIS excited.

Honourable Mention:

When one of your readers give you a much better title for your series on the good things in life. Only an honourable mention because it hasn’t happened yet but I bet it’s an unreal feeling. So please, if you think of anything let me know down below or on Facebook in the comments!

Start With 5: Kanye Cracks the Post?

Published on August 29, 2019December 6, 2020 by The Five Minute MindLeave a comment

Image result for person happy looking at list

Me (probably) in a couple decades

I have to say, coming up with these feelings is pretty fun. It makes it easier for me to notice them in every day life as they happen- not only making a mental note to appreciate it more, but also a note to jot it down here, in my… Journal? Diary? I think that’s basically what it is, but since I’m a millenial, I’m just going to go ahead and call it a blog.

5 Guys Burgers and Fries do fast food, but I do lists (and still can’t come up with a catchy title). Here’s 5 underrated feelings to continue your week.

1. When you drop your phone and you’re bracing for the worst, but you pick it up and it’s all good

Dropping your phone sucks, and no matter how careful and graceful you are, it’s going to happen. So when my phone makes a particularly long plunge towards the cold, hard earth and I turn it over and it’s unscathed, it really makes me sigh a heavy sigh of relief (I don’t know where the inspiration for Titanium, bullet-proof, or any other lyric Sia has about being unbreakable came from, but it definitely wasn’t an iPhone- so these moments are definitely appreciated)

Relatable

2. That first sip of coffee or tea in the morning

The initial taste of your hot drink of choice is good any morning, but it hits a little better on those mornings that are just a bit more of a struggle. I’m a tea guy myself, and that first sip is usually far too hot because I’m usually not patient enough to wait until it’s past its scalding phase. Hot drinks are meant to drink hot, so what if I burn my tastebuds off a little bit? Either way, my double dose of tea is one of my favourite things in my morning routine. Must be the British in me.

In case you were wondering, this is how you model sipping coffee

3. The ‘thank you’ wave of appreciation when you let someone merge in front of you

It’s the little things. When someone’s coming in and you’re a good sport and let them in, it’s a small token of gratitude to have them wave their appreciation. We’re all about manners in Canada (most times) and this is basically a must for drivers in the North. Bonus points for when that person is getting ignored by other impatient drivers and then you go on and save the day to let them in.

Can you imagine if we actually lived like stock images make us seem like?

4. Remembering a password first try for a site you don’t use that often

With the varying standards of what makes a password strong, you can’t even use the exact same password for every single site. So when I’m logging onto something I seldom use and I just throw some combination in, or one of my old passwords that I don’t use anymore and it works on the first try, I ignore the feeling that I’m sort of Oracle and just take a second to appreciate my wizardry.

You know what, I’m feeling these stock images. Let’s keep it going

5. Getting a text or call from a friend saying they were thinking of you

This one is the bee’s knees and can really go a long way to making your day, can’t it? Knowing you were on someone’s mind and mean enough to reach out to let them know that is a pretty good way of them letting you know you’re valued to them. It may not happen a whole lot, but it’s always appreciated when it happens and can make the heart feel a bit warmer. Since we’re all reading this anyway, I challenge myself and you to reach out to someone you haven’t heard from in a while and let them know you’re thinking of them- all the reasons of why it’s a nice gesture are all highlighted here so why not be the creator?

Comment who that text is definitely from.
P.S., I never thought I’d see the day that Kanye was on the site in any way. Anything is possible.

That’s all for this week. Use these buttons to share it how you feel and help this guy continue to build The Five You Need into a career- have a great week!

Why Is It Easier To Focus On Negative Things? And What Science Says To Fix It

Published on August 26, 2019December 6, 2020 by The Five Minute Mind2 Comments

It doesn’t take a genius to explain that being happy is much more enjoyable than being miserable but, mirroring how complex the human mind is, true comprehension of happiness is the type of lifelong stuff that we may never fully figure out. Yet the nature of it, at least for me, is so interesting and worthy of study that I naturally feel compelled to learn more- and like the Rock on his “cheat day” from his rigourous diet, I’m hungry.

As you already know, the world can be a pretty negative place.

People that seem to enjoy sucking the energy out of places, internet trolls, and don’t even get me started on the news. Negativity breeds negativity, or so the saying goes, and for some reason or other, it just seems like we’re naturally able to listen easier to that negative voice, feeling, or person, more than the positive stuff.

Why?

One of my favourite authors, Harvard psychologist Shawn Achor, explains why we as humans just can’t help but be drawn to the negative stuff sometimes and how it’s just flat out easier to feel negativity than it is to feel happy (or else I’m sure that we all would just choose to be happy).

He basically says that way back in the day, like way, way back in the day, all that negativity was actually super helpful in keeping us alive.

In early human times, the fella that walked around in the sun thinking about how great everything is was much more likely to get devoured by some sort of vicious predator or ignore other signs of danger, like say walking off a waterfall (I don’t know, I wasn’t there- you come up with a better example).

So as a result, those that were able to focus more on all the bad things that could be around them lived more and the others… Died.

This repeated itself over and over until the genes of all those negative people who were pretty good at singing Bee Gee’s songs lived long enough to pass down the habit to their kids and the others either learned quick or didn’t get the chance to even have kids.

When it comes to survival, that stuff makes a lot of sense. But the reality is now that we don’t have any real threats that are hunting us down and trying to kill us each day.

Since we can’t just give the habit back to whoever gave it to us, we as humans have an innate proclivity towards sifting out all those negative messages from the good ones, as those are the ones that can do damage to us.

A huge example of this is the news. Why do they report such negative content all the time? The answer is simply because they’re doing what every business tries to do: give the people what they want, so they can make money from it.

People are just naturally more interested to read or hear about that homicide that happened the other day, or whatever else happened that was horrific in some way. The interest comes from the simple fact that we focus on it more subconsciously because our instincts make us feel like it could possibly threaten us in some way.

It doesn’t look like this type of media is going to change either, after a Russian news site decided to pump out only positivity for a week and lost two-thirds of its readership in one day.

Anyone in charge of anything at a news company will undoubtedly avoid making the same mistake. For myself, I chose to unfollow any news outlet or source of breaking information because I simply realized that internalizing all of that negativity is likely influencing me far more than being ‘in the know’ about the horrors going on.

I also figured that if something was big enough to actually impact me, I would almost certainly hear about it from other people– and I really don’t care if I’m the first to know.

Another idea Achor explains is that to counteract these negative messages it takes a considerable amount of effort.

Since we are predisposed to focus more on bad things, it takes 3 positive messages to counteract 1 negative message.

An example of this could be at work, or school, or wherever you spend the most time. Someone could tell you you’re doing a good job or give you another positive affirmation of some kind, but if the next person told you that you’re useless there, the message from that person who’s probably just taking out some of their own inner turmoil out on you would stick with you for far longer than the person who told you’re doing good work.

We’d wonder what that guy’s deal was and likely begin questioning if he was right or what exactly he was meaning.

The same goes for the rest of the negative messages in the real world. Since we’re just instinctively more concerned about negative things, we grant them way more of our focus than the others.

To balance this, seeking out those messages of positivity can help train our brains to see more of what we’d rather see and not what our instinctive brain thinks we want to see.

Pointing out areas of gratitude is a great way to plug this in- it can really start by taking a minute every day to think about all the things you’re grateful to have and that you’d be upset if you didn’t have.

As we know in this world, anything can change at any minute and that thing you took for granted every day can be gone in a second.

Gratitude doesn’t have to be for all of the best things in your life either. Do you have eyes in your head right now to read this? Sweet, that’s pretty dope. 36 million people in the world aren’t so lucky.

If you’re scrolling on a phone to read this, imagine how difficult your everyday life would be without it, and the opportunities and ease it affords you. You get the idea, and the examples are limitless.

One could even say those tiny little things that make you feel good for a moment, or longer, are worth giving more attention to, and we as privileged humans probably overlook them on a daily basis.

As I’ve explained in this article, it’s not exactly our fault (we can blame the ancestors and their knack for surviving).

I started out a series a couple of weeks ago, and it literally just gives a shout out to those good feelings we’re all familiar with that might slip under our radars if we let them.

If you haven’t already, you can check them out here and here.

As always, thanks for reading and your help makes a big difference in the growth for The Five You Need. We’ve eclipsed over 2,500 followers across all platforms and I’m super grateful for that.

If you think anyone else might like to read about this study, you can send it to them directly with the buttons below.

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Thanks!

Sources:

Achor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work.
Achor, S. (2013). Before happiness: the 5 hidden keys to achieving success, spreading happiness, and sustaining positive change. First edition. New York: Crown Business.

Start With 5: Have You Overlooked These Feelings?

Published on August 12, 2019December 9, 2020 by The Five Minute MindLeave a comment

Officially reaching the last month of summer really makes you wonder where the time went, and how it just keeps getting faster and faster. Since time won’t wait for anyone, taking time to appreciate moments as they happen and even in reflection helps lets us savour the flavours as they constantly come and go. Savouring’s the name of the game here for this series, where each week I’ll be sharing 5 things that just made me feel some good kind of way- maybe you’re familiar with the feelings.

1. That feeling when you finish an overdue or challenging task

It’s Saturday morning, first day of the long weekend, and I wake up and just take a look around and it’s like I’m seeing my house for the first time with brand-new eyes.

We’re living like slobs, and since I have the day off I figure enough’s enough. I blast music through out the house to get the juices flowing and power clean the house in some sort of weird, focused determination (with the begrudging help of my visiting little brother, who did his absolute best to seem enthusiastic- kudos to him).

After I was done, I literally stood there with my hands on my hips, just stuck in a power pose for a minute with some major BDE (if you’re not familiar with the term, let me just substitute it for ‘confidence’ before you go looking it up…). Man, that felt good. The cleaning itself was nothing to celebrate, but that feeling after was great. I kind of just started cleaning to tidy up a bit, but once I got rolling it really did feel great and the moment of accomplishment after was nothing to take for granted.

2. When the sun comes out from being behind a cloud

Simple but pleasant, being outside when it’s not sweltering hot is much nicer with the company of a warm sun. I was sitting outside and subconsciously had the expectation that there would be no sun, so when it peeked out and shone down, it felt reeeeaaaal nice.

3. That moment of excitement and anticipation near the end of a game

If you’re not a huge fan of sports, maybe you should just mosey on to number four.

Okay cool, it’s just us now. How sick is that end-of-game rush when the score is just a little to close for comfort? I was at the Calgary Stampeders football game with my little brother (shout-out to the sister for the tickets) and the game took that surprise turn with the other team making an unlikely run during the final minute of the game. There’s nothing like the energy of live sports when the game is close. Looking over to see my little brother not just on the edge of his seat, but standing on it, was enough to emphatically illustrate that it wasn’t just me going wild with anticipation. The game ended on the final play, with the loser-other-team only inches away from stealing the game.

4. Sitting down after a long day

After a long day, especially one with walking or activity, plopping down on the couch knowing everything is done is a great feeling. I find this to work especially better when you have a brother to grab some snacks and the remote for you (camp Big Brother isn’t free, you know).

It just doesn’t feel the same after doing nothing

5. Hearing some thoughtful comments from someone you care about

My friends and I like to think we’re pretty insightful cats sometimes, and when we have a group dinner we’ve been known to talk about things we’re grateful for, or what we like about one another. It’s not a bad way to boost the day, and hearing my guest, my brother participate and deliver some comments straight from the heart really made my night, in combination with him being a part of something like this for the first time. Now in the first year of being a teenager, we’re starting to see our relationship deepen and I’m stoked for it.

The little bro and I at the game

That was my five, what’s a feeling you were happy for this week? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

The Formula for ‘Being Happy’ (Achor)

Published on June 6, 2019March 4, 2021 by The Five Minute MindLeave a comment

If everyone could choose to either be happy or be sad, I’m sure there would be a clear favourite from the two options. It’s obviously not as simple, and involves so many things that make it complexly different for each person. I’d like to think that most people know what gratitude is, and the impact that it has every single day. I’m sure everyone could easily explain what it is, wrapped neatly in well-thought out answers, in different amounts of depth and in different ways. After all of this considered, I just wonder why it isn’t talked about more, or why we don’t see more of it in every day life.

I’m sure anyone who took the time out to explain what being grateful meant could do a great job at it, and could logically infer that having more of this is better for happiness. And if they can’t, they should.

The greatest motivator that had biggest hand in restructuring the way I saw the equation of productivity and happiness was best explained by Shawn Achor, the author of the Happiness Advantage (also the single most influential book I’ve ever read). I’ve written about this topic in a dialogue sort of way, and if you haven’t checked it out already and are interested, you can click here.

Basically, the author (Achor), explains that there’s a bit of a misconception around productivity, success, and happiness. Most people see it like this:

People work tirelessly to become successful, with the ultimate goal of being the happiest they can be. Which is what everyone is ultimately trying to do right? At the end of the day, we all have stuff that make us happy, and it’s the pursuit of this that keeps us going (shoutout to Will Smith).

However, while it’s great and all to have this end goal in mind, the biggest message from Achor’s philosophy is that it’s backwards. I like to think of an analogy of waking up in the morning, since it’s something I used to be terrible at and am now somewhat manageable at. When I’m happy or excited, for whatever reason at all, it’s fairly easy to spring out of bed and get going with whatever’s got me fired up and ready to go.

When I’m not-so-happy is the time where this gets way to difficult. I linger, procrastinate, debate what I’m going to do, or just waste some time away on my phone. I’m sure someone can relate to that.

This is the same for productivity and success, which is better illustrated like this:

If I can get to that place of happiness and excitement beforehand, I’m way more inclined to get stuff done and my overall productivity sky-rockets. It isn’t much of a surprise that people get more stuff done when they’re feeling good, yet it still isn’t enough of a commonplace at work, school, whatever. Google is all over this idea and has been for years, evidenced by the puppies in the office, nap pods, frequent breaks, and anything that will boost the morale and mood of their employees. They know that happy workers means more results.

Now obviously, moods aren’t able to be controlled on demand like Pay-Per-View (anyone still use that?). If everyone could click to be stoked and happy, like already stated, they would. This is where gratitude comes in, and acknowledging things around you is the vehicle to get there. By making a point to appreciate what’s already here, the habit of satisfaction in the present moment is found. I was laying in bed last night and thought of a situation wherein I was genuinely concerned for my safety, and from that small flashback I was overcome with some appreciation for being safe and comfortable where I was- something usually super easy to overlook and something I’ve probably overlooked hundreds of times. Thankfully, it’s something I usually don’t ever have to think about- but it doesn’t mean it’s not something I can’t appreciate. I can think of dozens of things that I overlook on a daily basis that I would miss should I not have it, and this is the central theme around gratitude. Why wait until something’s gone before truly appreciating it? Reordering these appreciations really makes me feel luckier and can usually always improve my mood.

Gratitude is everywhere, and if someone doesn’t think they have anything to be grateful for, they might be doing it wrong. Some days without a doubt will always suck more than others and nothing can change that, but appreciating something when you have it feels a hell of a lot nicer than appreciating it while it’s gone. Practicing this daily has become routine, and like any skill the improvements result in it becoming easier and more natural, creating a more effortless pathway to gratitude.

Being Happy Is All About Right Now (One Habit That Will Blow Your Mind, This Is Totally Click-Bait)

Published on May 9, 2019March 4, 2021 by The Five Minute Mind1 Comment

When this site and page first began I had the intention to share the thoughts swirling around my brain and throw them out here, hot off the press. It’s kind of funny now with how little I’ve written over the last several months and while my mother might attest it to the lack of activity going on up there, I’d like to think it’s because of something else. In a way, she’s right.

I really don’t know anything. I enjoy writing about things about my life, and I can stick to that. It almost feels like I can’t write about things I don’t know much about, but I started by sharing my thoughts on things and I’m sure I can continue that. Over the last few years I’ve really become a hungry little nerd about life and growth and all the concepts that stem from this in various ways. At the end of the day, just laying back and writing about my thoughts is fun and as my friends can vouch for, I’m pretty good at entertaining myself- and I don’t think anyone laughs at my lame dad-jokes harder than I do. That’s just self-love, baby.

Right?

I saw a quote last month that really reverberated through my mind, and it made an appearance on the Facebook page. It’s pretty easy to get carried away sometimes in thoughts, activities, planning, reflecting; a drink maybe. With thoughts and planning this is different though, with these two mental activities sometimes taking me off to the races. The distraction is real, too. Man if I had a nickel for every time I made myself look like an idiot by slipping into auto-pilot and doing something I was really paying no attention to because of the frenzy going on in the ole cranium.

Of course, there’s more; like how these thoughts inch me further from what’s going on in the present moment little by little. I don’t think it’s all that bad though, as long as this doesn’t dominate my day. Mindfulness is really about observing these thoughts in a non-judgmental way, and since I could rant about that all day like a choirboy, I’ll just leave it there for now. The chorus of this song is just that thinking about these things, for me, can make me wonder about what’s to come or what has already happened.

This is where one of the quotes comes into play, and is all about the presence of happiness.

“Happiness is not in another place but this place… Not for another hour, but this hour.”

–Walt Whitman

It’s a bit of a funny relationship, the present moment and happiness. I don’t think many people struggle with staying present when they’re happy or engulfed by that good feeling of satisfaction. It’s pretty easy to just enjoy the ride when given those great moments.

But that’s not really what this quote is saying. Since this isn’t much of a struggle to do when wrapped in those warm feelings, it definitely points to the way we choose to view all of the other times where it isn’t so easy. I find it super easy to boost myself sometimes by thinking of some upcoming event that will improve my mood or lift me up a bit. It could be a basketball game that night, some plans with friends, a new episode coming out. But the reason I love this quote so much, and perhaps why it resonated with me so strongly, is because it reminded me that focusing on loving ‘the now’ is such a vital habit. Sure, it’s definitely nice to look forward and be excited about something, this isn’t discrediting or villainizing that. It’s just a simple reminder not to habitualize this as a main source for some emotional satisfaction. Looking for love in the present moment, the present hour, minute, and second is a great alternative habit that really develops like a skill over time. I’m just one big ole bag of my own habits as I’m sure many other people are, and getting the same repetition for things like this is much like the way I try and develop new habits and skills as an athlete.

This quote just gave me a tug of concentration back onto this message, and led me to begin asking myself something I love about ‘the now’ in times I drift off into the future. It’s wild how something so insignificant can influence our thoughts. For the people that already do this so effortlessly, that’s dope and I aspire to be more like that.

As for right now, I’m happy to come out of my writing cave and get some new content out there.

What about you?

As always, any sort of activity on social media goes a long way- any likes, shares, etc. on all posts are super appreciated!

What I Saw While Dirtbiking Around the Coast in the Philippines

Published on July 10, 2017 by The Five Minute MindLeave a comment

I was driving a dirt bike up a sandy coastal road in the Philippines when I look over and see a clearing just below, with a cluster of shacks with mud for floors and enough for maybe the basics of living. There’s not a chance that there’s power in the huts, and as I look to the left I see a woman washing what looks like children’s clothes in a basket.

My glance is met with a glowing smile, and a wave.

I kind of feel like a jerk because the amount of concentration and balance needed to manoeuvre the bike through the slippery, sandy, dirt hill is enough to make me sweaty, and because of this I can’t return the gesture.

The wheels I took around the island

Over to the right are kids running around and playing together, and sounds of laughter are heard throughout the little pasture of dwellings.
No phones, no roads, no appliances- all of them living more minimal than most people in North America do when they’re camping.

But no happiness? It’s infectious and found mostly everywhere you look. While riding on past, all I see are people smiling, socializing, and truly seeming to be content with the moment they are in right now.

You might think that this is something atypical, lucky, or even rare- but that’s just not the case over here. While I didn’t have the luxury of time to travel the country entirely, all of the places I did go had the same thing in common.

These people truly epitomize happiness and connectedness. The former concept is joyful, but the way these people value communion and social interaction is admirable. Each individual can attest to the way they feel connected to those around them, and the results are living right in front of you. While a vast majority of people from the Western world would view this minimalist lifestyle as torturous and unpleasant, the people here who are immersed in this way of life are living a life with tremendous gratitude for what they have, and who they have.

In the same way that Western culture has placed an importance on capitalism and making money to be successful, this little region of Pacific culture has cultivated a priority on community. The proof is in our backyard too: Filipino’s have created their own communities and do a pretty good job of orchestrating groups and leagues by which they can all gather together with.

I think it’s amazing. To have a culture so warmly embrace togetherness is inspiring, and the results can speak for themselves. The social structures connecting everyone are found everywhere, and the sense of community is unparalleled in our culture. We live in a world where all of us feel like there’s always something we need to be happy, perpetually seeking the next thing and the next dollar.

“Once I can afford that car, then I’ll definitely be happy.”

This goes on and on forever, steadily keeping pace with you and the next thing you want, only resulting in endless dissatisfaction.

Learning to be happy with what you have, and letting gratitude be at the forefront of your life will pay you the biggest dividends. The Happiness Advantage is an eye-opening book that truly instigated this paradigm shift in me, and the fact that is the one I chose to bring with me to read while travelling through the Philippines is astoundingly coincidental- and to this day, still blows my mind. One of the main themes of this book is the concept that money and success will bring you happiness, when in reality it’s not true. Constant hunger for more stems from this, and happiness will always elude you as you race towards the illusional rainbow.

Instead, the truth is that happiness is what fuels success, and focusing on your own happiness will actually make you more creative, motivated, and energetic.

My belief is that adding gratitude into the equation will compound this even further, because allowing your happiness to rely on what you already have rather than what you want is the key to being in love with the moment and the life you are submersed in.

For me personally, the proof is in the country and culture I was lucky enough to experience overseas. This was the main trait that was consistently found; people wrapped up in gratitude for what they have and the community around them.

Allowing yourself to let your motivation come from happiness rather than “more” is the rewarding experience you deserve, and what ends up happening when you become happier is amazing. Everyone deserves to be more motivated and energetic, and the byproducts of these two qualities will naturally bring you more. There’s nothing wrong with getting more, it’s simply the prioritization of acquiring more that is counter-productive, and will end up making you less happy. This ends up causing a chain reaction, in turn making you less motivated, with less energy, while your creativity dwindles. It’s a vicious cycle, but adjusting this to be centred around happiness allows you to snowball in the direction you want- naturally attracting more and more to you instead.

It starts with the little things; smiling at people, holding the door for someone, or even waving at someone.

Unless you’re biking up a steep hill.

If you’d like to give The Happiness Advantage a read, scroll down to the bottom of the page.

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Practice Makes Perfect, Happiness Is No Exception

Published on June 4, 2017 by The Five Minute Mind2 Comments

Happiness seems to be the thing everyone looks to chase, one way or another. Catching it, however, is impossible due to the emotion naturally washing in and out of our lives, similar to the ocean’s tide and it’s cycles. Like the ocean, controlling this emotion is met with the same futility. Understanding what control we have, and don’t have, over our emotions is crucial in our own self well-being. With this in mind, it’s important to understand that there are ways in which to manipulate more positivity into your life- by which happiness is a pleasant by-product.

One of the most basic aspects about happiness itself that many people don’t realize is how much of a habit it is. In the same way someone can be completely negative, it’s possible for someone to be positive. I’m sure when given the chance to reflect on it, everyone can think of a person continuously cheerful and lucky, and someone who is relentlessly negative and down on themselves. We as humans are creatures of our own habits, and as much a cup of coffee in the morning to start the day, other habits have a way of dictating our emotions. While it’s nearly impossible to just suddenly declare “from now on I’m just going to be happy,” magically transforming into Mary Poppins, implementing methods of positive habits can make being happier simply easier. Similar to how practicing over and over again in something such as a sport, driving, or in my grandma’s case- quilting, it is possible to becoming more skilled at being positive.

Positivity has always spilled out of a friend of mine, and I must admit, sometimes it was just flat-out annoying. When I was presented with some of the more challenging phases of my life, this guy always seemed to be riding out life in the luckiest of ways. However, after beginning my own quest in self-growth, understanding part of what makes him tick ended up being incredibly interesting. This guy does not have a negative habit in him. He is so deeply entrenched in overlooking negativity while at the same time reinforcing positivity that he just appears to be the luckiest guy in the world. This made me realize just how important perception is into luck and happiness. Luck is an entirely real thing, and people possess either bad luck or great luck. The truth behind it is what events you choose to perceive. A person who chooses to hover on all of the unfortunate events in their lives will reflect that in how they view their life. On the same token, someone who overlooks such things and chooses to gravitate to all of the great happenings in life will undoubtedly present as someone who unexplainably has a ton of good luck. Practically adding this into your life is as simple as making a concerted effort to brood on anything positive that happens to you or around you. Over time, the changes possible are remarkable. As humans are creatures of habit, you’ll start to realize how effortlessly natural this becomes. Eventually, respectfully blocking out negativity will become second nature, and soaking in all the good around you happens automatically.

A habit helping out a happy frame of mind is the importance of gratitude. This trait is hugely important in developing satisfaction, which easily translates into well-being and positivity. Look at gratitude as a vehicle for happiness that allows everything around you to be converted into aspects of your own happiness. You could be the wealthiest, most privileged person in the world, but without a presence of gratitude you will be less satisfied and happy than a family with minimal necessities in life but who are wrapped up in an incredible appreciation for one another and the world they share around them. In addition, understanding the relationship of gratitude and happiness is profound. It is difficult for depressive moods to exist in the presence of gratitude. Implementing this in your life is as easy as compiling a list of things you’re grateful for. Making this a habit is as easy as thinking about anything you’re thankful for every day. Whenever you’re driving, in the washroom, or just have a minute to yourself- make a simple list in your head of three things you’re grateful for. This can be anything! From family and loved ones, to the person who held the door open for you this morning when your hands were full. Gratitude can be found everywhere.

This a relatively short article on the practical side of happiness, and there is a whole host of other aspects comprising its body. Utilizing these habits can aid in harnessing the good in your life, which in turn is very effective in raising your overall well-being. Challenge yourself to notice the positive aspects in your life- study the happy-go-lucky people around you. Take note of their habits, but most importantly, always be in tune to the things that make you happy.