Project Happiness Articles — friendship

"Make a list of things that make you happy.Make a list of thing you do every day.Compare the lists. Adjust accordingly."

Thanksgiving is suffering from Middle Child Syndrome. Halloween rolls in like the younger sibling: full of charisma and charm, in full party-mode!  Christmas, obviously the older sibling, looms responsibly tall, revered and sacred. Thanksgiving?  Well...it's stuffed in the middle. Turduckenned.

The more I read about how social media has become the new playground for bullying, the more inspired I felt to help spread kindness instead. Children were not only being bullied at school, but now had to deal with bullying long after they got home, because of social media. I came up with the idea of a kindness challenge so kids had a reason to turn to social media for a positive experience.

So do you believe in Atlantis? Or would you rather believe in Nartec? Either way, believe in your determination and ability to survive, above all. The world around us may drown us with troubles we think we wouldn’t be able to handle, but we are stronger than we think ourselves to be and sometimes require our friends to remind us of that.

Everyone wants to be happy. Behind our every action is our desire for happiness. However, unknowingly we have certain mindsets, I call those happiness stealers, which as the term suggests, keep us from being happy.

I started to realize that my meaningful conversation starting cards actually spark connection. When people are asked, “What’s the biggest mistake of your life?” you cannot help but feel connected after hearing a response. Why? People being vulnerable is the key to connection. As my hero, Brene Brown, says, “Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.”

It’s surprising how often each of us worry about our social situation or experience loneliness and lack of connection, yet how little time we spend exploring ourselves. I’ve learned that spending time by myself actually enhances my ability to connect with other people. It turns out that as I spend time understanding myself it helps me understand and connect with others.

We all have relationships that fade over time, where someone is more invested than the other. Or times when we begin to want more out of an existing relationship. One of the greatest opportunities to deepen a relationship is sharing how much the relationship means to you and the gap in the relationship you’ve observed.

So, tell me, did I sleep through the portion of Home Ec where they taught us that in addition to sewing on a button, we needed to learn positive self-talk? Did I miss the college course: “Care for Thyself Fundamentals?” At what point are we taught to love and honor ourselves as individuals and human beings?

If there is one thing all parents want, it's a child who is happy and content. From a strong foundation of happiness, children can achieve so much, so it’s no wonder we’re always looking for ways to maximize this happiness. As many families are discovering, a child’s happiness can be greatly increased simply by having a pet around as a companion.