"Stop looking for the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight."

"I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness." - Dalai Lama


Happiness has always been one of my favorite words.  It was/is that thing that I have to always buy when I see it in a frame, or a rock, or a necklace.  I once bought a charm with a Chinese symbol on it.  The store had it labeled as "happiness" so, I was pretty excited about it.  A few years later I started dating a guy who spoke Chinese on his LDS mission and one day asked me "Sarah, why do you always wear a necklace that says delight?  Excuse me, did you say delight?  Fail.  I really just love all things happiness.  Maybe it's because it's one of those things that myself and many others I know struggle with frequently.  Overall we're a happy people, but then you have a day that just makes you feel like you're world is going to end and you feel unhappy about life.  Luckily, the sun rises again the next day and it's a brand new start.


I recently came across a fantastic article called "60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days".  It splits the 60 ways up into different aspects in our life (home, happiness, finances etc.).  I'm going to start implementing some of them into my own life.  Starting now.  


Here are some of my favorite ones:


1.  Follow the advice proffered by positive psychologists and write down 5 to 10 things that you’re grateful for, every day.
2.  Make a list of 20 small things that you enjoy doing, and make sure that you do at least one of these things every day for the next 100 days.  Your list can include things such as the following:

• Eating your lunch outside.
• Calling your best friend to chat.
• Taking time to sit down and read a novel by your favorite author for a few minutes.

3.  Set your alarm for one minute earlier every day for the next 100 days.  Get out of bed as soon as the alarm rings, open your windows to let the sunlight in and do some stretching.

4.  For the next 100 days, make it a point to feed your mind with the thoughts, words and images that are most consistent with who you want to be, what you want to have, and what you want to achieve.  

5.  Connect with someone new everyday for the next 100 days.  

This is just a glimpse of the article (the full article is here).  I have it saved and have looked at it everyday for the past week.  I think that for the most part, we are a happy people.  We need to replace those down days with things that are improving and benefiting not only our own lives, but others as well.  

Gordon B. Hinckley said "Stop looking for the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight."  
Oh, he's good.

Here's to setting my alarm 1 minute earlier (or just waking up at the first buzz...) and opening my window to enjoy the sunlight and stretch.

Just like the Dalai Lama said, [one of] "the very purpose[s] of our life is to seek happiness".