This past Monday I had a Happy Day. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I didn’t wake up knowing that I was going to do it. By the time I got to the office I had decided I wasn’t going to let the dumb stuff bother me. Perhaps it is the manifestation of the realization I had made some weeks ago when I was asked “What gifts do you have that you would like to make available to the world?”. I didn’t know what to say at first. My inclination was to answer that I don’t have any gifts to bestow upon the world. But that wasn’t good enough for me. I knew I had something to offer, and I came with the answer “I would like to make people happy with my humor”.
How it Went
It turned out to be surprisingly easy to stay happy all day. I surprised even myself. Earlier in the day I had to remind myself that these things don’t matter, but by the time I was headed home for the day, it already become almost natural just to be happy. I got stuck behind a slow guy on the interstate, making me have to break y cruise control. In the past something so trivial has gotten me quite upset, and yet, I barely acknowledged it at the time. It wasn’t until I was passing him that I realized the significance of the moment.
An interesting side effect of the day is that I remember fewer of the things I didn’t like, but more importantly, I remember more of the things I did like. I remembered Carl’s joke of the day, I explicitly remember how much joy Carl got out of the joke my Dad wanted me to pass on to him, and how yummy the green chili cheeseburgers on homemade bread were for dinner.
What I Learned from my Happy Day
The next day, when I woke I was still happy. I suppose it isn’t really a surprise. Nothing happened that would warrant my not being happy any longer. But it’s nice to know that by having a single happy day there has been a residual effect. I noticed myself getting frustrated at small things again near the end of the day, but found that I enjoyed being happy enough to realize this and readjust quickly.
The other interesting thing I noticed was that others around me were happier as well. When I happily showed up to work the day after my happy day, one of my coworkers said to me with a big smile on her face “I’m glad you’re having another happy day!”. This in turn brightened my own day just a little. So there becomes a cyclical feeding effect of happiness as well. It spreads from one person to the next much like a virus, but it’s a happy virus!
There really is something to questioning these instances where we start to get annoyed and show it outwardly. Is there any benefit to being frustrated, or upset? I haven’t found one yet. In the past I’ve wanted to show grumpiness simply so others would see that I’m unhappy without having to explicitly tell anyone. But even that is lacking in logic. Who really cares? If I am actually angry for a valid reason, I suppose observers won’t want to interact with me until they see I’m fine again. But, I’m finding there are very few reasons to be honestly angry or unhappy.
My New Mission
It was a small experiment that led to some large realizations. Realizations of the kind that cannot be taught, but have to be experienced to understand fully. I have decided that my gift to the world is in fact happiness, and my mission is to spread happiness to those who interact with me on all possible occasions with the hope that their happiness will then spread to those who interact with them. It is a small gift, but a worthy one.
Your Quest, Should you Choose to Accept it.
Try out your own happy day. Go into it without expectations. When things begin to bother you, think about what the benefit of being angered or upset by it is. If there is no benefit, then shrug it off and be outwardly and inwardly happy. Don’t put on a facade, but genuinely be happy.
If you do decide to take the quest, let me know how your happy day went, and what you learned from it in the comments.
Reflections on my Happy Day
This past Monday I had a Happy Day. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I didn’t wake up knowing that I was going to do it. By the time I got to the office I had decided I wasn’t going to let the dumb stuff bother me. Perhaps it is the manifestation of the realization I had made some weeks ago when I was asked “What gifts do you have that you would like to make available to the world?”. I didn’t know what to say at first. My inclination was to answer that I don’t have any gifts to bestow upon the world. But that wasn’t good enough for me. I knew I had something to offer, and I came with the answer “I would like to make people happy with my humor”.
How it Went
It turned out to be surprisingly easy to stay happy all day. I surprised even myself. Earlier in the day I had to remind myself that these things don’t matter, but by the time I was headed home for the day, it already become almost natural just to be happy. I got stuck behind a slow guy on the interstate, making me have to break y cruise control. In the past something so trivial has gotten me quite upset, and yet, I barely acknowledged it at the time. It wasn’t until I was passing him that I realized the significance of the moment.
An interesting side effect of the day is that I remember fewer of the things I didn’t like, but more importantly, I remember more of the things I did like. I remembered Carl’s joke of the day, I explicitly remember how much joy Carl got out of the joke my Dad wanted me to pass on to him, and how yummy the green chili cheeseburgers on homemade bread were for dinner.
What I Learned from my Happy Day
The next day, when I woke I was still happy. I suppose it isn’t really a surprise. Nothing happened that would warrant my not being happy any longer. But it’s nice to know that by having a single happy day there has been a residual effect. I noticed myself getting frustrated at small things again near the end of the day, but found that I enjoyed being happy enough to realize this and readjust quickly.
The other interesting thing I noticed was that others around me were happier as well. When I happily showed up to work the day after my happy day, one of my coworkers said to me with a big smile on her face “I’m glad you’re having another happy day!”. This in turn brightened my own day just a little. So there becomes a cyclical feeding effect of happiness as well. It spreads from one person to the next much like a virus, but it’s a happy virus!
There really is something to questioning these instances where we start to get annoyed and show it outwardly. Is there any benefit to being frustrated, or upset? I haven’t found one yet. In the past I’ve wanted to show grumpiness simply so others would see that I’m unhappy without having to explicitly tell anyone. But even that is lacking in logic. Who really cares? If I am actually angry for a valid reason, I suppose observers won’t want to interact with me until they see I’m fine again. But, I’m finding there are very few reasons to be honestly angry or unhappy.
My New Mission
It was a small experiment that led to some large realizations. Realizations of the kind that cannot be taught, but have to be experienced to understand fully. I have decided that my gift to the world is in fact happiness, and my mission is to spread happiness to those who interact with me on all possible occasions with the hope that their happiness will then spread to those who interact with them. It is a small gift, but a worthy one.
Your Quest, Should you Choose to Accept it.
Try out your own happy day. Go into it without expectations. When things begin to bother you, think about what the benefit of being angered or upset by it is. If there is no benefit, then shrug it off and be outwardly and inwardly happy. Don’t put on a facade, but genuinely be happy.
If you do decide to take the quest, let me know how your happy day went, and what you learned from it in the comments.