Increasing Happiness

I’ve been hearing a lot about happiness over the past year or so. I read Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project and the study that ranked the world’s countries in order of happiness (Canada came in at a respectable number 8, tied with Costa Rica, New Zealand and Israel; the US came in at number fourteen, tied with Austria), and there was also the Ted Talk from the Babble.com publishers that examined the highs and lows of happiness throughout our lives.

Happiness, I think, is both transitory and absolutely necessary. And, as a mother of a rambunctious  pre-schooler. and also in the midst  of some unknown health problem that completely saps my energy, I’m trending a little bit down in my happiness. (You can only say “no” to a pre-schooler so many times before you wish your head would just fall off.) At the same time, I have these fabulous moments of pure joy, like when we realized that Baby Man can read a few words or write his name, or when finishing a big project, or even just when my husband hugs me.

What I would love to do is find a way to bring more happiness into my life. Not necessarily those moments of pure joy, but just sort of a low level of happiness and contentment that is always with me. And, wouldn’t you know, I found the perfect post on Tiny Buddha.

What it comes down to is finding out where I am happy, what I am doing when I am happy, and what makes me unhappy. Some things I can’t change. Baby Man is a pre-schooler, and they are difficult to deal with sometimes, but I can try to change the way I deal with him. As for other things, well, I guess I have my work cut out for me.