Today is the International Day of Happiness. In 2012, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared March 20th as International Happiness Day. In the U.S. the “pursuit of happiness” is one of our fundamental principles. The U.N. wanted to share this concept with the world as a way to raise awareness of the many benefits of being happy.
Since our tendency is to draw attention to the negative, I love the idea of devoting a day to focusing on the positive—on those good things in life that make us happy. It makes me happy just thinking about it.
What makes you happy? For me it’s spending time with my children and husband, connecting with people in a deep and meaningful way, living my life to the fullest, and being of service in any way I can. Of course there are lots of small things that light me up too. The way my pooch is so happy to see me at the end of the day, the sights and smells of New York City, or a simple meal with my family.
Music can be very uplifting, too. Last year, Pharrell Williams’s incredible upbeat and catchy tune Happy was released as 24 hour YouTube video as a way to show (as the lyrics say) “What happiness means to you.” This year, John Legend and Ed Sheeran are collaborating to create a new Happy Playlist, which will be announced today. Check out #HappySoundsLike and I guarantee it will make you smile.
Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.
To find out more about Rose’s thoughts on how to live a happier life, click here
