Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Take a Break: Get Ready to Celebrate National Happiness Day

In June 2012, the United Nationals designated March 20 (also the first day of spring) to be the International Day of Happiness thereby giving global recognition to the importance of happiness and well being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world and the importance of their recognition in public policy objectives.

 So let’s start off by understanding what happiness is-it’s a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy; good fortune. A life of contentment, with moments of intense joy, is what we’re aiming for.

Different parts of the world are doing different things on or around March 20, such as the 
• Giant Orange Happiness Wall-Participate in one or create your own 

10 Ways to Improve Happiness and Contentment: Action for Happiness,  a leading proponent of happiness, which helps people implement various actions to improve mental well being and to create a happier and more caring environment, has identified 10 ways to improve happiness and contentment:
• Giving: Do things for others

• Relating: Connect with People-Call a friend, have lunch

• Exercising: Take care of your body-Reduce TV viewing and time spent on computers, cell phones and other technology. Take a walk, dance

• Appreciating: Notice the world around you. Write down 5 things each day you feel grateful for. Keep it simple and short.

• Trying out: Keep learning new things. Play. Idle games and play can introduce something entirely different into your day

• Direction: Have goals to look forward to

• Resilience: Find ways to bounce back

• Emotion: Take a positive approach

• Acceptance: Be comfortable with who you are

• Meaning: Be part of something bigger

Other Resources for Increasing Happiness
• 5 Mindfulness Steps That Guarantee Increased Success and Vitality: Dr. Ellen Langer’s approach to reducing unhappiness by increasing mindfulness 
• Take a Break 
• Smile 


Not interested in today’s activity? Check out the Take a Break Pinterest for lots of Take a Break ideas. 

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