It's not all bad, we all have things that are good in our lives however small or insignificant they may feel at first, or at the time.
If we look, we can find find and acknowledge them, and take comfort in them.
By feeling grateful for the ropes (however thin) that life throws us, we give ourselves a powerful tool to increase our happiness.
It is one thing to decide to be more grateful about life, but putting it into action can be a little harder. There is thankfully a simple solution that really helps you stay on track with this - a gratitude journal.
A gratitude journal is a wonderful thing, and it doesn't need to be anything fancy, just a notepad lying around, or even type it into your notes on a phone, or computer.
It always comes as a surprise to people when they first try at how much of an impact this simple task can have on your life.
I really think that some of these habits should be started as soon as possible, even as young as 6 or 7 would be ideal, as out of all the happiness tips I give, I think this is a great starting point and one of the easier ones to put into action.
Each day you write for a few minutes about the different things that you feel grateful for. To start you off, it could be things related to the basics, food, water, shelter, love, friendship, nature, or even thoughts that have made you happy.
Think back on your day and write down absolutely anything that even gave you even a hint of happiness.
By listing all the positive things in your life you bring them to the front of your mind. The very act for bringing the things that made you happy to your mind will make you feel happier and more accomplished too.
The great thing about journalling your gratitude is that as well as helping you give your happiness a hug right now as you savour each daily entry, but it serves as a momento of your happiness and gratitude journey. This means you can curl up on on your couch and read through it when you need a little happiness hug.
Just imagine the smile on your face as you read through the past weeks, months and even years of smiles, thankfulness and happy memories...
Because as you read about events and people, little things that add up, you will begin to relive the memories and feel happy about them all over again.
A journal is like a happiness battery, as you put in all your good feelings into it and store them and can access them on demand. It's such a powerful but simple idea.
Again, once you have done this regularly for a month or so, it also becomes second nature to look for the postitive instead of the negative, since writing in the journal forces you to think and find the good in things and people on a daily basis.
So give yourself some happiness hugs and start a gratitude journal this evening (if you don't do one already that is). Today.
You won't regret it.
