Friday, March 20th, was International Day of Happiness. Did you celebrate it?
I deliberately decided to delay writing this blog until after the day was over. I believe that Happiness Day belongs in a category of special days like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Independence Day and Veterans’ Day. Having those special days are helpful reminders, but the reasons for celebrating them are valid enough to celebrate them every day of the year.
Happiness is a particularly important concept to celebrate on a daily basis. Scholarly research has enlightened us to the fact that happier people tend become more successful and to maintain good health over time. We also know that certain behaviors are associated with happiness. Not all those behaviors are intuitive but they can be learned.
Social involvement, doing good for others, feeling and displaying gratitude, having a job or other activity that one pursues with passion, and setting goals for the future are among the behaviors that are associated with developing a happy approach to life.
Obviously this is not an agenda that can be achieved in one day, but it can be started in one day. I like to the of the International Day of Happiness as the equivalent of a personal kickstarted campaign. Instead of raising funds, it can kickstart the raising of awareness and the raising of questions – such as, “Am I generally happy?” “Are there things within my control that I can change to increase my happiness?” “Can I develop or add to habits that are known to promote personal happiness?”
I hope that the International Day of Happiness didn’t come and go without you noticing it. If it did, it’s not to0 late to get in on the celebration – because thoughts and behaviors that promote personal happiness can be celebrated every day.