Early this past summer, I began a weekly blog post called, “What Made Me Smile This Week” (if you are a regular reader of my blog, that part of today’s post is not news to you.)
A bunch of people sent me notes, over the course of the summer, saying how much they were enjoying the posts, and how it helped them to get into the habit of thinking about what made them smile each week.
Here’s a note I got from Rachel, who runs a summer day camp:
I read your blog post, “What Made Me Smile This Week,” just before the start of camp. This summer, we started our day with a staff meeting. Each morning, I, along with our owner/director, would greet the staff and give them all the info they needed for the day. I loved your idea of writing down the things that made me smile and decided I would share my thoughts each Friday.
It was so much fun! The staff was excited to hear what I was going to comment on; people were especially proud if they were a part of one of the things that made me smile. I thought you would like to know that by the end of the summer one of the things that made me smile most was the fact that the staff began to tell me the things that made them smile! Camp is a place where everyone should be smiling all the time! It was a great tool for me and for the entire staff to take a moment and recognize what we were smiling about!
As you can imagine, Rachel’s note made me smile big time. Rachel also sent me a photo of a poster she made which hangs over her desk at camp. (See today’s featured image.)
As I said each week when I was posting the “What Made Me Smile” posts, taking a moment each day to list positives in your life is a proven happiness strategy. Start slow: schedule a time to do it once a week. I post a reminder on Facebook each week, so if you “Like” the Six Simple Rules Facebook page, you’ll get the reminder each Saturday.
Whether you make a list of areas of your progress (achievements list), things about which you are grateful (gratitude list), or “what made you smile,” try to get into this very beneficial habit.
For those of us in the path of Storm Sandy, focusing on what we’re grateful for is an important strategy. Of course, some people suffered devastating losses and for them more time will be needed to heal and I’m sure you will join me in sending thoughts their way.
Best regards,
David
p.s. Please share your thoughts with your comments here…