Well, hello! It’s a bright, sunshine filled Tuesday morning here, and I’m at my desk and working hard (cough) already. I didn’t realise it was #InternationalDayOfHappiness until I looked at my Twitter feed first thing. In between all the gloom, sad news and pain there was a reminder from Action For Happiness that today was, indeed, the day to be positively happy.

It brought me up short. My Twitter feed was beginning to get me down. It’s like a bad drug; I started looking at some things last week that were… frankly… totally uhygge, and then I got into the darker side of life. It made me feel cross and powerless and unhappy. I don’t like unhappy. I don’t like feeling powerless.

So, I have spring cleaned my feed. I’ll get my politics and downers in one short sharp burst by watching The Daily Politics once a day, but otherwise I want my Twitter, like my Facebook and my life in general, to be a happy place.

The theme for the day this year is Share the Happiness. If we want the world to be a brighter, happier place then we have a role in that. I see happiness, in its more gentle form of contentment, as a goal for every human being. I’m not talking about that wild elation that comes from a big lottery win, or that you feel on a wedding day, or when you give birth. Those states are ephemeral, designed not to last, because to keep your body forever at that pitch of happiness would ultimately be as disastrous as being depressed. No, I’m talking about the soft, warm, gentle happiness of a warm puppy, a cup of tea after a cold day watching football, or a snuggle with a baby when they don’t puke on you. The little things that make happiness, and are achievable for all.

That’s why happiness has to be found in the intangible things of life: if we look for it in posessions or position in society, we are doomed to be unhappy. We will likely get worried about the possessions (Will it be damaged? Could it get stolen? What happens if I lose it?) which destroys the happiness in it, and likewise if we let our happiness depend on our position in society, we’re relying on things never to change. A quick read of the papers will show you that, especially in areas like politics and finance, today’s Kings of the World are tomorrow’s trash sweepers.

Action for Happiness has identified 10 keys to happier living, using the mnemonic GREAT DREAM

Charity, spending time with others, stretching our brain, having a purpose for our life… none of these are physical things. Happiness is not about who has the most, but about who loves their life the most.

I’m off now to do some more work. I have a few files to work on for the business, Peter Kneale Solicitor. We work as Personal Injury lawyers in a deprived area of Liverpool . I like it, because being the receptionist I get to greet all the people as they come in. I’m the welcoming  smile of the business, and I like that. I also love the fact that we still offer 100% compensation, unlike a lot of other personal injury firms. We decided to keep the business overheads small and accept less profit so that we can give our Clients all the compensation they win in their cases, until the rules or law change and we can’t afford that anymore.

After that my day is my own. I have some more chapters to write on my next book, 52* Ways to Be Happier, and then this evening I’m off to watch a musical with the Daughter. You can’t get much happier than that, now, can you?

*52* Ways to Be Happier should be ready and published around May, I think. Just in time for my 50th Birthday. My books on hygge, another guaranteed way to be happier, are available on Amazon now.  You can read about my plans for summer hygge in  How to Hygge Your Summer, in Paperback and Kindle form, from Amazon. Summer hygge is about far more than throws and fireplaces… although fire and candles still play a large part in it.

My other books have more ideas that are good for hygge all year round, and are all available from Amazon. 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way  is available in Paperback and Kindle version . Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas was released in September 2017 and is available again in paperback and ebook version.

If you purchase anything through the links on this page, I get a couple of pence extra per copy, and if you’ve already read my books and enjoyed them, please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads.

****How to Hygge the British Way Blog isn’t monetised. I have taken the decision that I want to remain neutral and not to promote things just because. I will only ever review items that I have bought myself, or that I think will help to promote hygge in a busy life. To do this, I need support. Even just the price of a coffee adds up to a book over time, and it means I can stay independent. Would you help?

I have a Patreon Page that (I think) means you can pay me for products you have enjoyed. You can find me at https://www.patreon.com/hyggejem. I think you click through and then you can pay per blog post or page content. I’m still getting to grips with it, so please be patient.

If you’d rather make a one-off donation, please consider clicking through to my Paypal donation page,  paypal.me/HyggeJem and leaving even a small amount. I’d be very grateful. Every penny I make from the blog and books goes towards books, films and homemaking to create a hygge home for me, the guinea pigs and the kids. Thank you.***