Things that make us happy....
10 years ago I came across a newspaper article with the headline: Finding a ten pound note: Why it really is the simple things that make us happy.
It went on…. ‘To those of us who will never be blessed with beauty, own a mansion, or find fame, it is indeed cheering news. For it is the most modest of daily pleasures that make us happiest, a poll claims. Finding a £10 note in an old pair of jeans and being told you’ve lost weight emerged as life’s greatest good mood triggers in a study of 3,000 adults. Getting into a bed with freshly washed sheets or seeing an elderly couple hold hands also help to brighten our day. The poll, which set out to find the top 50 things that make people happy, revealed that happiness is accessible to us all – through the simplest day-to-day occurrences. What’s more, by the time you read this, you’ll already be well on the way to cheery spirits – for 38 per cent of us feel happier on a Saturday than any other day of the week, particularly when we wake up and realise the weekend starts here. Sunshine was found to be largely responsible for us feeling jolly, featuring in the top 10, while having a quiet moment to yourself, hearing a baby laugh or the smell of freshly cut grass also change our mood for the better. Most of those polled said they appreciate generosity from others – warming to those who offer an elderly person a seat on the bus or train, or who pass on their parking ticket in the car park. The hustle and bustle of everyday life means the average person is only happy for half the week. But, a spokesman for Three Barrels Brandy, who conducted the research, said: ‘Despite not feeling entirely happy for three out of seven days of the week, it doesn’t take much to lift our spirits. ‘We can be having a terrible day when a quick thank you from the boss can and make us feel great. Small gestures from friends and family also work wonders.’
The article was accompanied by this list of the best 30 of the 50.
October 2011 Daily Mail
I absolutely loved this list. It’s kind of like a HYGGE thing, things that just make us happy.
At the time of it coming out I was working in an employment support role with some groups of people who were, for a variety of reasons, further away from going back into work. I used this list to devise a workshop and asked people, in either pairs or groups, to go through it and pick a top 5 or 10 and to then share and discuss with the rest of the room. As a part 2 exercise I would get everyone to think of other things that worked for them in a similar way. We had things like; walking on fresh snow, listening to the birds and watching the waves. I have used this exercise since in Mindfulness sessions and it’s purpose can be multi-functional. It can certainly help us to remember the positives that we have in our lives and to be able to show gratitude for them. The lists of all of the positives were great reminders that were visual and could be used in other workshops. When we don’t have much it’s nice to recognise the value in what we do have, spiritually and emotionally if not necessarily financially. That same newspaper has just run a very similar article with this next accompanying list and it is so interesting to see what is still featured, what has moved with the times (10 years is a lifetime in a technological age) and what is a new addition. I feel another workshop coming on….
April 2021 Daily Mail