Launched by the UN on June 28th 2012, International Day of Happiness came about through a move to make happiness, a "fundamental human goal" a bigger priority across the globe.
193 United Nations member states pledged their input into the common goal of happiness back in 2012 after the first ever UK Conference on Happiness.
Celebrated for the first time in 2013, today marks the 5th International Day of Happiness. A chance to refocus on the common goal that gets quickly forgotten in the blur of our everyday lives, happiness.
Am I happy? And if not, what's making me unhappy? They're questions that we probably don't ask ourselves often enough. Surely, happiness and figuring out how to be happy in life should be taking greater importance in our lives.
Yet, life's problems and irritations can tend to bog us down to the extent that happiness becomes an afterthought and simply struggling on takes priority.
While there's no secret to happiness; happiness is naturally a very unique, subjective experience, we have a few habits to try incorporating into your everyday life.
If stress, frustrations and negativity have become a very regular part of your life, why not try out a few of these suggestions?
1. Organisation
"For every minute spent in organising, an hour is earned." - Benjamin Franklin
While this might be exaggerating slightly, organisation could be key to achieving a greater sense of happiness in your life.
When we organise, whether it's planning out your meals for the week, having your clothes for work laid out the night before or just setting out an achievable to-do list to work through, we gain a sense of control in our lives.
While there are many things we don't have control over in life, we can reduce anxiety and stress by gaining control over certain aspects. Things feel less hectic and all over the place when we organise.
Avoid that stressy feeling of everything happening to you at once by taking small steps each day towards leading a more organised life. This won't happen overnight, but by remembering to do small things like your dishes after you've used them, allotting time each day to do a little bit of tidying up and simply writing important things down to remember, will all go a long way in becoming a more organised person.
2. Getting a Hold on Frustrations
We all get frustrated from time to time, it's just inevitable. However, letting those frustrations get the best of you can be a real problem and lead to unhappiness in our daily lives.
Frustration occurs through not wanting something to be the way it is, something we cannot change easily or indeed at all. Whether it's someone behaving a certain way or even ourselves behaving a certain way, frustration is an inevitable part of life.
Recognising when frustration occurs and pausing to breathe and gain perspective will help in getting a hold on ourselves when we can feel anger bubbling up. Acceptance that we can't chance everything to our own suiting is key to letting go of frustrations that are blocking your own happiness.
3. Don't Take Yourself So Seriously
We can get so bogged down by life's seriousness and our own negative thinking that our problems and frustrations can seem like dramatic, insurmountable, end of the world scenarios.
Remembering to make time for the little things in life that make us happy can help us gain perspective and give us a much needed break from the problems that we may have going on.
Next time you're feeling overwhelmed, take a step back, phone up a friend for a chat, watch your favourite TV show or just make yourself a cup of tea to cosy up with on the sofa. Remembering to care for our wellbeing is important and it starts with the small things.
4. Reflection
When our own problems get the better of us they can tend to blind us from all the positive aspects of our lives. Making sure we reflect back on our blessings and the things that do bring us happiness when we feel as though things are terrible is important in finding contentment and happiness.
5. Help Others Where You Can
"I will try to create more happiness in the world around me" - The Action for Happiness Pledge
It has been said that true happiness comes about when we bring joy in someone else's life. Whether that's surprising your friend with tickets to see a movie, volunterring for a charity with a cause close to your heart or simply just paying someone a compliment, spread some joy in the world. When you see someone else's face light up with a smile you might just start to feel a bit more joyful yourself.