Are You Surrounding Yourself With Happy Stuff?

Ask yourself this question now, are you surrounding yourself with happy stuff?

Is it an easy yes or no? It’s probably somewhere in between for most of us. 

Everyone has good and bad days, but the key to holding on to the happy even through the rougher times is by surrounding yourself with happy stuff. It makes pulling yourself back up again easier to do. 

None of us can live in a bubble, we can’t keep everything rainbows and sunlight, but there are things we can do to minimise our stress and mood dips and increase those feelings of calm and happiness. It’s about making deliberate choices about your environment and habits. It can take some work, you could try a few of these things. 

Make plans so you have things to look forward to

This is an easy one to do, and ‘plan’s do not need to be big things, little things work just as well. 

Perhaps message a friend and get a catch up in your calendar, make plans to go and visit a new site or store you’re interested in over the weekend, plan to settle in with your book for the evening.  

Any plan that give you a happy little lift when you think of it is worth making. 

Delete apps that waste your time or drain your energy

There’s no doubt that our phones can bring our mood down. 

If you know you need to stop doomscrolling and recognise this behaviour in yourself, you need to delete those apps or be strict about how much time you spend on them. 

Even when you’re using your phone for more enjoyable or useful things, it’s not usually the most satisfying way to spend your free time, so get rid of apps that you know you get lost in and choose to spend that time differently.

Be intentional with your time

Following on from that last point, be intentional with your time.

You have 24 hours in a day, what do you want to do with it. 

Of course much of this will be taken up working or adulting in other ways, but then what? Use your time to boost your mood, and think about how best you can do that. 

Be choosy about who you spend your free time with

Who you choose to surround yourself with can greatly impact your own mental health and happiness.

Think about whether you feel relaxed or energised with people, or whether they bring your mood down. Set reasonable boundaries with people, say No when you need to and don’t feel compelled to spend time with people that make you feel ‘less than’. Your friends and family should be your cheerleaders. 

Have a few ‘go-to’ mood lifting habits on standby 

Take a moment to think about the things that make you happy. This can be an ever changing thing, as it’s likely that the things that made you happy a few years ago might not serve you now. 

What springs to mind today? It might be habits, hobbies, people, places, or things. It’s probably a good mix of all of them.

Music to sing loudly to, a new little house plant, getting lost in sketches and doodles, a hug from a loved one, a walk in nature, a good cup of tea.

Once you recognise those things that lift your mood, you can always reach for them when you want them. 

Look for the ‘happy’

This one will have a huge impact, and it’s worth training yourself to do this. 

Look for the happy in any day. It’ll be there, even on the worst of days. 

You could set this up as a new habit for you, thinking about a couple of good things each day as you fall to sleep, keeping a gratitude journal or chatting about it with your family daily, whilst you train your mind to do this.

‘Happier people’ don’t typically have easier lives, but they do do this. 

And finally, whilst this one is not as quick a fix like the other things on this list, improving your nutrition, hydration, sleep and regular exercise will also positively impact your happy. Taking care of your body in this way rewards you with a little happy boost. 

So what do you think, are you surrounding yourself with happy stuff?

 

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