Gorge Happiness Month Encourages 'Happiness Habits'
Happiness Activity Day 5: Tell a joke (bonus points if it’s a bad pun that makes people groan)
The Gorge Happiness Month challenge is well underway.
The happiness habits and activity challenge invites people to focus on building scientifically proven ‘happiness habits' that improve happiness and help build strong connections in the community. Each activity included on the calendar and ‘The Daily 3’, have been proven by science to improve people’s mood, life satisfaction, and happiness levels.
This month community members, businesses, and organizations around the Gorge are busy checking off happiness activities and achievements on their calendar. Gorge Happiness Month would like to encourage everyone to join them in developing happiness habits over the course of 31 days that just might change their outlook on life.
Click here to download the calendar in English or click here to download the calendar in Spanish.
Click here to download the calendar in English or click here to download the calendar in Spanish.
The Daily 3 activities Gorge Happiness month says can help people improve their happiness are gratitude, acts of kindness and moments of silence.
The Daily Three Happiness Habits
Gratitude
Find time each day to list three things for which you are thankful. This can be written on paper or just in your thoughts. These may be as simple as a yummy lunch, an extra soft pillow or the sunshine today. Or it can be grander. You decide. It’s the act of gratitude that counts.
“Our minds are geared to look for danger- which is great because it keeps us safe. So there’s a real benefit to our negative bias, but focusing on danger all the time is not an ideal way to live your life, ” said Emily Reed, Director of Gorge Happiness Month “Which is why it’s helpful to focus on the good for a little bit each day. What we do with gratitudes is to scan our day for one, two, or three good things, or moments and just focus on them. This kind of helps to balance out the brain to create a more realistic picture of your day and move away from being negatively geared.”
Acts of kindness
This can be as easy as smiling at a cashier, saying thank you to a co-worker, or complimenting a stranger. Once during the month, look for a way to volunteer or help the community.
“Acts of kindness are proven to make you happy,” said Emily Reed, the Director of Gorge Happiness Month. “Helping people, doing something nice for a stranger, or giving someone a compliment just feels good.”
Moments of Silence
Sit silently for just five minutes per day. This means turning off the TV, computer, radio, and cell phone. As you sit, observe the thoughts in your head, the sounds you hear around you, or other sensations that come and go. Keep your eyes closed if you want or just look at one thing about three feet in front of you. Don’t beat yourself up if your mind wanders - just notice it and come back to observing and listening.
“The moment of silence really weaves it all together,” said Reed, “It gives your mind a moment to not be doing and to rest.”
Happiness Activities Day 9: Put a heart in your window.
“Practicing these habits every day really shifts your mindset,” said Reed, “It’s like you start looking for something to be grateful for, and people to help every day first to fulfill the challenge, and then pretty soon it’s a habit. It’s a bit like anything like eating well and exercising. They are a pain in the butt but they feel good when you do them. Cultivating happiness is like that, it takes a tiny bit of effort but it feels good.”
Reed said her favorite daily happiness activity is saying hi and waving to people she sees while she's out and about in the community.
“I think one of the things I’ve learned from the science is just how important it can be to acknowledge others and say hi, wave, and be friendly to your neighbor, your postman, or just someone passing by you on the street. All you have to do is wave to someone to get the full benefit of the interaction,” said Reed “We are social creatures. Cultivating positive experiences with others throughout your day, even if they are brief can make a huge difference. Those little interactions don’t have to involve deep meaningful conversations. But a little wave, a smile, or a compliment can go a long way to making you and the other person happier.”
In previous years Gorge Happiness Month hosted several events, workshops, and talks to promote happiness in the Gorge. However this year, due to the pandemic, they’ve opted to keep it simple and small.
“We’re not doing all the events and we’re not as big this year. We’re just one hundred percent volunteer this year. So we paired it down and put out the calendar but it's much smaller than usual,” said Emily Reed, the Director of Gorge Happiness Month.
Happiness Activity Day 12: Do someone else’s chore (even if you are grumpy while you do it)
Are you practicing happiness habits for Gorge Happiness Month?
Community members, businesses, and organizations can participate by checking off events on the calendar and by sharing their happiness month stories on social media with the hashtag #gorgehappiness to potentially be featured on the Gorge Happiness website and social media.
“The goal is for the community to take this on and do fun stuff with it each year,” said Reed.
