Happy International Day of Happiness

Today is the United Nation's International Day of Happiness. Don't be alarmed if this makes you feel a massive amount of pressure to have the happiest day of your life, and you start thinking it's not my birthday or wedding day, I didn't receive a promotion, I'm still ten pounds overweight, and it's just Thursday and I'm still in the same place I was yesterday. If a coworker or your boss is mean to you, immediately tell them, "It's International Day of Happiness," so stick that in your mean old pipe and smoke it! Start small, thinking internationally is too daunting. Treat yourself to that Dutch Bros. coffee drink you've been avoiding, buy your best friend a Snickers bar and surprise her, or take your kids an awesome lunch to replace that stale PB&J you sent them to school with.

If you've been trying to get something started for the past few months do it today. Take that walk you've been saying you'd take. Go to the gym for the first time in six months. Order the salad when you normally wouldn't. Use this international power to empower yourself to do things out of the ordinary, heck you may kick something off.

Big picture thinkers think small, and small picture thinkers think big. Big picture people appreciate the smell of a candle burning, or the ice chilling your soda to that perfect frosty temperature (so many countries don't even have ICE), and small picture thinkers remember you have a car to drive with a heater and comfortable seats, and count those big blessings in your life like you're alive and well. Be present today, look around yourself, and observe things. If you have a picture of a beach on your cubical wall imagine yourself sitting there with a Mai Tai.

Today, I'm allowing myself that second morning Diet Coke (usually I only do this on holidays, weekends, sick days, cheat days...), I'm going to blare some Beach Boys as loud as my back speakers can handle (blew the front ones out already) and sing along, and when I get home tonight I'm going to indulge in a good hour of mindless TV.

Spoil yourself, spoil a friend, make someone else happy, and you will feel great. Happy International Day of Happiness everyone!