Don't Worry, Be Happy

What does being happy really mean? We all try to achieve happiness as it is a fundamental right of being an American. But can one term, happy, simply be defined as glad or delighted. The elusiveness of this term has left us to interpret happiness for ourselves. What makes ME happy? That is the question that we really need to answer. What makes one happy is not necessarily the same for someone else. Psychologists study happiness all the time despite the subjectivity of it all. How can we really measure happiness? We, ourselves, are the only people that can report our own state of happiness. We know the increases and decreases in our level of happiness over the long-term, but psychologists cannot rely on someone else to report your state of happiness as our own perception is different from others.

You're happy today. Does that make you a happy person? In other words, does a happy day versus a not so good day define your state of happiness? In the short term, maybe. But the longer we study, the more accurate our account will be of happiness. If I were to report my happiness today on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the happiest you could be, I would probably give it a 6. However, ask me how happy of a person I actually am over the long term and you will probably get something more like a 3 or 4. It is a better day, but it doesn't mean I'm a happier person.

Now to get to what this post is really all about...

Tomorrow I will be starting the #100happyday challenge (thanks to the support of my friends), the day I leave for South Dakota. You may have heard people attempting to do this challenge, many people of which fail to complete it. However, I do know people who have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and have found themselves happier in the end. What this challenge entails is taking a picture everyday of something that made you happy. Simple, huh? This is what the hard part is, you have to do this for 100 days in a row, many of which people may not have the time for. Really? Do you not have time to be happy? This challenge forces you to live in the moment and enjoy it. Find happiness in the little things in life. Maybe your morning cup of coffee made you happy today or seeing a friend you haven't seen in months made you happy. It seems that people overlook the simplicity of it all. This challenge is for your OWN personal gain, in no way is it a competition to be happier than the person next you.

As part of this challenge I will be submitting a picture everyday on instagram using the hash tag, "100happydays" (#100happydays). Feel free to follow my instagram to follow my journey on this challenge. As something added, I will post the picture I took that day on this blog and a little blurb explaining what it was that made me happy that day. This is in addition to my normal blog posts. Maybe we can see my progression together. Will this challenge make me happier? Well, we will find out after 100 days and you can ask me then.

To find out more about this challenge and/or start it yourself go to http://100happydays.com/. Let me know if you start it, I would love to follow you as well.