The #100DaysofHappiness challenge took over most social media platforms back in 2014, but keeping a 100 Days of Happiness journal is something that I don't think should be left in the past.
Personally, the online challenge was a bit much for me. The posts every day, the pressure to find tangible items that make you happy to post pictures of, and the pressure to seem perfect to your followers just seemed like way too much to keep track of. For some that might've been great and fun, but for me, that seemed like a lot of unnecessary pressure and it felt like it defeated the purpose of the whole challenge in general. So every once in a while, when I'm in a rut or just feeling a little down, I pick up my journal and start the challenge again.
This is how the challenge works for me; I have a notebook that is specifically devoted to the challenge. Every day for 100 days (or however long I feel like I want to do it), I take some time to pick out one thing that made me happy within the last 24 hours. That's it.
Here are 10 reasons why I think everybody should keep a journal like this, and why you need to start one like yesterday.
1. It reminds you every day that something good is happening in your life.
Today's society likes to make everybody feel like they're lazy if they're not constantly busy. So, we like to make sure were the busiest we could possibly be and that leaves very little time for us to reflect on the things we're accomplishing as were being busy every day. Taking out a certain minute of your day to reflect on what you accomplished is super nice, and really rewarding.
2. It gives you an excuse to take a minute to reflect on how your day went.
Today's society likes to make everybody feel like they're lazy if they're not constantly busy. So, we like to make sure were the busiest we could possibly be and that leaves very little time for us to reflect on the things we're accomplishing as were being busy every day. Taking out a certain minute of your day to reflect on what you accomplished is super nice, and really rewarding.
3. It's actually a really good stress reliever.
There's something really therapeutic about writing positive things down that make you feel good.
4. It's a great way to set goals and keep track of how you're progressing with them.
If you set a goal at the beginning of your 100 days and you're writing something positive about it every day, it pushes you to want to continue building on your goal. Also, if you're writing about it every day, you can keep track of how far you've come and see your progress as you come closer to achieving it.
5. It's a constant reminder of how much you have to be thankful for.
If you're taking time out of your day to think about the good things in life, you're bound to think about the people and things that you're lucky to have in your life.
6. It's literally so easy, and so beneficial.
All you have to do is write one positive thing down a day. Just one thing, not even a full sentence sometimes. That's all. And in turn, you can use those sentences to become a more positive, thoughtful, and optimistic person. You can try to look at the good side of things instead of the bad, and you can start looking forward to the start of each day instead of dreading every time your alarm clock wakes you up. (Well maybe not completely stop dreading it, but it might stop making you cringe quite as much.)
7. It's a great reminder to slow down and enjoy the little things.
Sometimes, you miss out on the little things because you're so focused on the big ones. Taking time to think about the little things that are going your way is a great way to realize that a lot of things in your life are good and you're actually doing a lot better than you thought you were.
8. There's a super cute journal that you can buy from the 100-Day Happiness website, or you can make your own.
The journals from the website are super cute and they have a lot more than just the "100 Days of Happiness" portion in them. They have inspirational quotes and goal tracking plans and a bunch more stuff. But if you want to just make your own, that's amazing too. Making your own journal gives you the freedom to do what works best for you and tailor the challenge to your specific needs.
9. It's a tool to help you stay a bit more positive.
The constant reminder of good things happening in your life ends up making you think about the positives first, and it makes the not so positives seem not so bad.
10. There's no right way to do it, you just do what feels right for you.
The best thing about this exercise is that it really just works as well as you want it to. If it's something that you really want to commit to and use as a tool to regain a more positive outlook on life, you can totally do that. But also, if its something that you want to use when you're feeling down until your not feeling so down anymore, that's amazing too! There is no pressure about it, it's just a way to make you a better version of yourself for you.
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