Have you ever tried to make someone else’s day?

I want to offer you something very simple that you can do whenever you feel a bit down, or just want to feel happier. Whether you are going to an activity, volunteer work,  out to do your errands,  or get to a class,  make it a point to make someone else’s day today. It could be something as simple as giving someone a big smile, have a meaningful conversation with a person who’s looking a little lost or lonely, or it could be buying lunch for the homeless person on the corner. Recently I heard someone say they prepaid the person’s lunch behind them in a takeout line. Pretty cool, huh? It truly doesn’t matter what you do, but do something today to make someone else’s day.

Notice how that makes you feel.  I bet it’s a pretty good feeling isn’t it? It seems that a big key to our own happiness lies in making people in our lives happy, and helping out whenever possible. When you start to think about it, it makes sense, doesn’t it? We are social creatures who need to bond and work together to truly thrive. It is only logical then that helping those in our personal sphere has an internal reward system built in. In other words, our happiness goes up as we improve the lives of others.

Make It A Point To Make Someone Else’s Day

A great strategy then to increase our own happiness is to cheer up those who we come into contact with in our lives. Not only will it help make you feel better and happier, think about it. You also have to  put a big smile on your face to be able to make someone else’s day, which should automatically up your personal happiness quotient. It’s hard to do acts of kindness when you’re feeling sad and depressed. But these are the times you need to force yourself to do it the most. By simply doing that, you make your own mind increase the happiness you feel and that gets mingled with a feeling of pride for helping someone else.

As with many of the other strategies we’ve been discussing about increasing your happiness, the key to making this work is to make it a habit. If it becomes well ingrained in your daily routine to make someone’s day as you go about living your life, you’ll automatically start to do it, even when (and especially when) you don’t feel like it. These are the times when you particularly need to do something to increase your own happiness and give yourself that extra little boost.

Start by thinking about a few different little things you can do to make someone’s day. It doesn’t have to be anything big or complicated. Instead focus on small acts of kindness that you can do every single day. Bless your loved ones with this kindness, or complete strangers who look like they could use a little cheering up. Help someone unload groceries, fix a meal for a neighbor who has been going through a tough time, or bring your significant other coffee in bed just because. All these small acts of kindness will start to make a huge difference not just in you, but also the world around you.

See where we are going with the Happiness Challenge?  You get happier and start to spread it around … hence the Happiness Movement. If you haven’t joined us yet, click here to join and then hop on over to facebook and become part of our private group.