What Makes You Happy?

American philosopher Pharrell once said, “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth, because I’m HAPPY.”  He says happy quite a bit in the song which addresses the idea of happiness head on.  But how many times have we heard the song and truly thought about what makes us happy?  How often do we look behind the catchy music and funky rhythms to determine what happiness means to us?

I know that I often forget what happiness really means to me.  Specifically on Monday this week I encountered one of those situations.  It had just snowed so it was cold, and slick and just kind of a gloomy day.  I had put on my cowboy boots because I thought they would give me some tread to walk with and keep me from falling.  I failed to look at exactly which ones they were when I put them on as they were completely smooth on the bottom.  As I walked to class I realized exactly which ones they were as I fell almost 5 times.  I was just letting the hard day of classes and snow get the best of me and ruin my happiness, and I even isolated myself refusing to talk to my friends.  After my test that evening some of my friends and I decided to just hang out.  We drove around town talking and blaring music in the car just having a great time.  For the rest of the day, I did not stop smiling as that little pick me up was all I needed to be in such a better mood.

That day I was just completely tired and grouchy and not very much fun to be around, but that one little bit of happiness made the difference for me.  Blaring music for about 10 minutes just completely changed my whole mood and perspective for the day.  How many times do you find yourself stuck in a rut and being down on yourself?  How many times has someone just made your day because they did something that made you happy?  Whether it’s blaring music in a car or walking around town and catching up, find something that makes you happy.  Whatever it is, I encourage you to try to do it everyday.  I’m not saying that you have to read an entire book everyday because it makes you happy, but why can’t you take a 15 minute study break to read from that book?  “Clap along if you know what happiness is to you,” so I encourage you to find what makes you happy and pursue it everyday.