Your Happiness Jar

In the spirit of the Henry Moore’s quote on New Year’s resolutions, consider his idea to simply think in terms of today’s resolution instead of the whole years’. One way to do this is to create and use a happiness jar.

A happiness jar allows you to recognize and record what makes you happy. It is a simple but fantastic tool to practice gratitude, reflect on the good things, and to be reminded of how blessed life can be.

Here is how to simply make your life better with a happiness jar:

Step 1: Find or buy a large jar with a lid, such as one used to make sun tea. Jars are better than boxes because you can see that your happiness jar has something in it.

Step 2: Put a pad of mixed color paper on top of the lid.

Step 3: At the end of every day, write down the one thing that happened that made you the happiest.  This could be something very small by comparison to what you have accomplished, or it could be a big event. Whatever the size, write it down.

Step 4: Fold it up and put it in the jar.

If you forget to put something in the jar for that day, consider doing nothing the next day, or putting two in if the spirit moves you. If at first you simply can’t find something that you were happy about to record then take a couple of minutes to relax, breathe deep, and try to mentally and emotionally find it. If still nothing comes, then reach into the jar and pull out a previously written happy note and read it. Maybe that will be what makes you happy that day!

On other days, maybe more than one thing made you really happy. In this case, write each one down. What is wrong with getting happy all over again memorializing what made you happy in the first place!

When times get rough one of the best things you can do is just reach into the jar and read about what made you happy. Randomly grabbing one of your random “entries” is best, as doing this will evoke joy from unexpected memories that otherwise may not have come to mind.