Can you be happy 100 days in a row?

This is the challenge Dmitry Golubnichy set for himself in 2013 when he found himself in an "emotional slump." When he was reminded by childhood friends that there was so much in his life to be happy about, he decided to challenge himself.

"I will be able to find at least one little thing to be happy about for next 100 days," Golubnichy writes on his "100 Happy Days" website when explaining his story.

He decided to share his happy days on his social media accounts so that he would feel compelled to complete the challenge, and so #100happydays was born. As the days and posts went by, more and more people joined Golubnichy and began their own #100happydays challenges.

I first heard about the idea when a friend and mutual Instagram follower posted her first #100happydays post (shout out Olivia Rink, you inspire me). After a bit of research about what this whole thing was about, I was in.

I wasn't in an emotional slump or anything (at least I don't think I was?), I just liked the idea of being happy for 100 days. Plus I really like Instagram and this gave me a reason to post a picture every single day for 100 days so, yeah, I was all over that.

But what started out as a bit of a superficial excuse to post a daily Instagram picture (I love Instagram okay?), turned into a realization of a joyful life.

A pretty tree on campus, a good cup of coffee, a random run-in with an old friend, a kind word from a stranger, all of these seemingly ordinary things were standing out to me. It was like I could find something that made me happy almost anywhere.

Not to mention the responses I was getting from friends and followers.

"I look forward to your happy days posts," "I love your happy days," and my personal favorite, "Your happy days make me so happy." All of these comments seriously filled my heart with so much joy. My happiness could make other people happy too? What even!

The challenge made me realize that my life is filled with so many reasons to be happy.

But only because I was looking for happiness.

If I didn't have the #100happydays on my mind, all of these happy moments would have passed by me without causing an impression and I would have wasted my energy focusing on the few not-so-happy things that happen to me everyday. But because I was focused on seeing the positive, I saw it everywhere.

This challenge made me realize how truly filled with joy my life is.

A happy life isn't some rare commodity granted to a lucky few; a happy life is just an ordinary life lived by those who are making their lives happy! Read that and then read it again because this is important. Everyone's life can be extraordinarily happy if they choose to make it that way.

It's all up to you, so go make your life happy, people.

Want more info on #100happydays? Visit http://100happydays.com/ to start your own challenge!