It’s been exactly one month and ten days since I made my new year’s resolution to be happier, and I can say, without a doubt, that I have no idea how well it’s going. My goal is to spend this year trying to make my life happier through simple acts of kindness and general well being. What I can tell you is that I was smiling when I typed that last sentence, and hopefully you smiled when you read it. If you didn’t smile then, surely you have by now. Okay, you can stop your smiling now and continue reading Anthony Wyatt’s One Month New Years Resolution Update, or as I like to call it, OMNYRU.
It’s hard for me to gauge just how much happier I am, but I know that, at least perceptually, I appear happier. I’ve had multiple people on separate occasions tell me that I look like I’m “in a better mood.” Honestly, that’s one of the best parts. A form of affirmation that cannot be explained with anything short of a smile is when other people compliment you on your effort to change your lifestyle. Smile for the camera, smile for the doorman, and don’t you dare forget to smile for the lunch lady. Smiling was a bit of a hassle at first, I won’t lie, but as I began to receive more and more smiles in return, it made the effort worth the reward. That being said, giving compliments has by far been the most enjoyable part of this past month. It’s saying all of the things that you think about the world but never felt the need to say. I feel that ,with my new attitude, I’m not pressured into giving people fake compliments, but I’m more empowered to tell them how I’ve always felt.
As I reflect on this past year I realize that the key to happiness doesn’t lie in a book or in a formula, it is entirely dependent on how you see the world. If you try and make the world a happier place then it is that much happier because of your decisions. It’s about how we orient ourselves to the people around us and our decision to wake up on the right side of the bed everyday. So, as the months continue to roll on through, I’ll do my best to grin, bear and maybe even enjoy it.
