Our journey into this New Year  is coinciding  with the upcoming  two-year anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic which changed every aspect of our daily lives as we knew it where daily routines, simple sources of joy and pleasure, and even relationships were halted.  We are still navigating our new world and “new normal”.  For some, this pared down life and slower pace of living has worked well leaving our traditional frenetic paced life while others are antsy and eager for the world to go full throttle again. Either way, many are struggling for that elusive sense of happiness in our present day-to-day life. 

Happiness has been an elusive emotional state for many during these topsy turvy times that we are living in. However, happiness lives inside each us,  we just have to cultivate it by creating space for it in our life even during the more difficult times. Instead of our traditional New Year’s resolutions made that often fizzle into the next week of the New Year, how about we spend this month where we gently go inward to mentally clear out the things in our life that are bothersome, not working, and impeding our overall sense of happiness. In doing this, we are creating space for more joy, peace, contentment, and satisfaction that will bring more happiness into our life.

This first month of the New Year is the perfect time to cultivate more happiness by  planting a variety of seeds to harvest as the year progresses. These seeds build-up your resilience to  better “go with the flow” and deal with stressful times. One seed is Gratitude  for the simpler things in life such as enjoying the newly bloomed amaryllis sitting in your kitchen window, smiling at the plump blue jay dining at your bird feeder,  to the daily frolicking with your children or pets in your back garden while soaking in some solar rays and much needed vitamin D. Think of it as your daily time to recharge and refresh.

Don’t forget to plant a seed for more self-care, which is anything you do to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally fit that includes exercise, drinking plenty of water, healthy eating, and immersing yourself  in nature. This also may include any favorite activity you love from journaling, meditating, lighting your favorite candle, breathing deeply, refreshing your morning routine, to doing something new and the list goes on. Even a simple meditative practice is known to affect areas in the brain related to happiness.

 These self-care activities all  require being more in the moment meaning focusing on the “now” and not what happened six hours ago or is going to happen three days from now. The past is gone and the future eludes us, so all we have is the here and now, so savor it! As you become  more in “the moment” and enjoy what you are doing each day as you progress in the New Year, you will experience more joy, satisfaction, peace of mind, and an overall sense of happiness will follow.