We live in a busy world. As a human race, we don’t slow down and even if we do take time to improve ourselves, we get discouraged if we don’t have instant results. It’s a very damaging way to live; not putting ourselves first, expecting the best now. I used to dishearten myself all the time expecting to have a bad day and wondering when things would happen for me. I’d wake up, get myself ready, leave, work, come home. There was nothing else to look forward to because I felt stuck and unhappy. But recently I’ve realized how much can happen in a day and how outside forces affect us. We get little gifts all the time to get through our days. These little victories and little happinesses that really can alter your quality of life. People don’t tend to see them much, they don’t qualify little happenings as prosperity. But these are hidden gems on your bad days.
Have you ever woken up in a bad mood and have already given up on the day only to miss every red light and just breeze right to work? Or, you think you’ll be late to work but traffic is light so you walk in right on time? That’s a little victory. On the way to losing 100 pounds? Don’t get mad that you’ve only lost five so far, you’re trying and five pounds is an accomplishment worth being happy over. These little victories add up. They can be minuscule affairs like the aforementioned or something large like winning the lottery. Though, true happiness is easier to achieve if you pay attention to the small victories. Ever think you have less on your debit card than you really do? Ever find coverage last minute at work for an event? Ever get tipped a few extra dollars? These are little victories. Small things that can boost your mood.
The other meaningful matter would be the little happinesses. Sometimes when I go into work in a bad mood, I’ll start small-talking with a client and they’ll throw out a random compliment. A simple out-of-nowhere “I love your hair! It suits your face so well!” can improve how you feel. Another example is if you’re talking with someone and they’re excited about something they have coming up or if they are going somewhere you love, getting enthusiastic helps a ton! Even if you compliment somebody or make somebody laugh, you get that rush of contentment that only comes out of being nice or returning a favor.
It’s so difficult to think of such tiny occurrences as impactful. People think their happiness isn’t based on a comment someone made however long ago, but you can hear the craziest stories about how one microscopic encouragement helped someone gain confidence or reach a goal or decide on something life-changing that day. As a society, we need to start appreciating the little things. It ups the quality of how you’re living and how other people feel about you. Next time you’re discouraged about your job, living situation, money, self-confidence, pay attention to all the small gifts you receive to get through the day. It definitely helped me. I hope it’ll help you all, too.
Now get out there and be happy!
