Google has the answers

As I'm sure many of you do as well, when I'm in a bad mood, or stressed, or tired, or struggling with a decision, I turn to the internet for answers. When I'm tired, I read buzzfeed tips to pull an all-nighter, and it motivates me to wake up. When I'm stressed, I find lists of dumb, simple ways to relax. Yoga, meditation, lighting a candle, breathing exercises. Sometimes, you find yourself overwhelmed. The internet has answers. Well, today, and quite honestly for the last few weeks, I've felt awful. Not like, sick, (WebMD, anyone?) but sad. Not depressed, at least not yet, but really down in the dumps, and not for a reason I can really put a finger on. And so I literally Googled "how to be happy" and clicked through the links. 

The article that really drew my attention, despite not being the first on the search page, was an article by Real Simple. Gretchen Rubin writes about her "systematic study of happiness" and her 10 takeaways that helped her become happier in general. I went into the article thinking "if I can get just one to work for me, it's a start." And I found that most of what she had to say was simple tweaks that in the long run, would help. Nothing instant, no magic 30-second solution.

Now I'm not going to list them all here, but Gretchen has some really good ideas. The most helpful one for me was to let anger dissipate. If you talk about every little problem instead of letting them blow over, they make you more unhappy. I talk a lot, and a lot of it is complaining to my friends or family about how the universe is fighting against my every move. And it's okay to feel that way sometimes, but I could talk a bit less and breathe a bit more. Patience has always been a virtue that a lack, and that reflects in many things I do. 

Anyway, now that I've shared my personal takeaway, go read the article for yourself. Gretchen is an angel and I feel better already.

Be happy!

Claire

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