Happiness Tips

A couple of weeks ago, I got a lovely handwritten note in the mail from a sweet elderly acquaintance in our community. She had read in the local paper that my oldest son was named the Connecticut Student Journalist of the Year, and she had clipped the piece which she sent along with her kind congratulatory message. Also tucked into the notecard was a little yellow balloon with a smileyface. The beautiful note was truly so touching and the balloon made me smile. I immediately dropped a note in the mail back to her, thanking her for her thoughtfulness and for making my day.

I was so tickled that I decided to post about it on Facebook, and I blew up the yellow smiley balloon to take a picture for the post. Well, it’s two weeks later, and believe it or not, that silly party store balloon has become everyone’s favorite object in the whole house! My teenage boys volley it back and forth to see how long they can keep it in the air. They try to spike it at each other. They do head-butts with it. I caught one guy repeatedly bouncing it off his nose like a dolphin. They play with it in my office. In the hallway. In the family room. One night I was watching TV in bed when one of them came in to kiss me goodnight carrying the balloon. He he tossed it to me and we went back and forth a few times. Such a simple pleasure, yet without fail, it makes everybody smile.

So can simple pleasures actually make us happier? Indeed they can, according to Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home. “It’s not life changes like a new house or a fancy car that make the most impact, but sometimes little things like the smell of an orange that give the biggest happiness boost.” says Rubin. She adds, “Over and over, people tell me something like cleaning out a medicine cabinet gives them a huge jolt of good cheer and energy.”

The smiley yellow balloon inspired me to come up with a list of 101 simple pleasures that might make you smile or will perhaps spark other ideas of your own. Of course, simple pleasures aren’t universal, so one person’s pleasures won’t necessarily bring the same boost of happiness to others. But the possibilities are limitless and it’s fun and interesting to see what others consider to be simple pleasures, so please share your ideas in the comments below!

1. Feeling the warm sand on your feet at the beach
2. Seeing a baby light up with a giant grin
3. Getting a handwritten note in the mail
4. Listening to your favorite music
5. Warm, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies
6. A magnificent sunrise or sunset
7. Cuddling
8. Good chocolate
9. Holding hands
10. Laughing until you nearly wet your pants
11. Inside jokes
12. Spending time with people you adore
13. A cloudless sky
14. Your favorite flower
15. Getting a call or email from someone you love out of the blue
16. Watching your favorite childhood TV show
17. Singing loudly in the car
18. Hugging your babies, no matter how old they are
19. Stargazing at night
20. Lying in bed listening to the rain
21. Finding money you didn’t know was in your pocket
22. An icy glass of lemonade (or beer) on a hot summer day
23. Getting a great parking space
24. Sleeping in
25. Fresh bed sheets
26. Putting on clothes straight from the dryer
27. A breathtaking view—water, mountain, cityscape, forest, whatever
28. A picnic
29. Plump summer tomatoes
30. Bodysurfing
31. A fireworks display
32. Making someone smile
33. Kissing
34. The farmers market
35. Helping someone in need
36. The smell of a baby’s head
37. Building a sandcastle
38. Watching clouds float by
39. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich
40. Checking something off your to-do list
41. The cool side of the pillow
42. The smell of a thunderstorm (“petrichor”)
43. Waking up and finding the alarm isn’t going off for another three hours
44. Swinging on a lazy porch swing
45. Snuggling under the covers on a stormy day
46. A perfectly-timed, cozy snowstorm
47. Relaxing in front of a roaring fire
48. A great book
49. A long walk on a cool day
50. Cherry blossom trees
51. A clean closet
52. Unexpected good news
53. The smell of a barbecue
54. Bubble wrap
55. An afternoon nap
56. Finding an old personal treasure at the bottom of a drawer or in the back of a closet
57. Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row
58. A brand-new 64 box of Crayolas
59. Cookie dough
60. Your favorite movie
61. Fresh-picked berries, still warm from the sun
62. Not having to be anywhere
63. Getting a giant hug just when you need it
64. Minty breath
65. Putting on a snuggly sweatshirt after a chilly afternoon at the beach
66. A long conversation with a favorite friend
67. The rare perfect errand day
68. The smell of fresh-cut grass
69. Tears of joy
70. A fabulous bottle of wine
71. Collecting sea shells
72. Bubble juice and a bubble wand
73. A newly-fallen blanket of snow
74. Making s’mores
75. The smell of fresh-baked cookies or bread
76. Vibrant autumn foliage
77. A foot massage
78. Licking the batter
79. Seeing a rainbow
80. Candlelight
81. Spring flowers blooming
82. Hot chocolate on a cold day
83. Finding something you made when you were a kid
84. Puppy kisses
85. Randomly bumping into someone you haven’t seen in a while
86. A good hair day
87. When something you were going to buy anyway is on sale
88. Getting a caring customer service person on the phone
89. A balloon
90. Coming across an old photo that makes you smile
91. The season premiere of your favorite show
92. Riding with the top down
93. A chocolate ice cream cone
94. Taking a shower after a day at the beach
95. When someone lets you know they’re thinking of you
96. The smell of a sea breeze
97. Hearing an old song you used to love
98. A bright full moon over the water
99. When a baby falls asleep in your arms
100. Rereading a favorite childhood book
101. City lights at night

What can you add to the list?

Category: Happiness Tips