This post, 10 Things that make me Happy, was originally published in 2017 and has been completely updated in April 2023.
Have you ever been given or presented with a challenge? Did it make you feel something like this?
{Cue the music
Mission Commander Swanbeck:
Good morning, Mr. Hunt. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, involves, etc., etc.
Ethan Hunt:
If I let you know where I’m going, I won’t be on holiday.
From quotes.net – The Mission Impossible movies}
Love these movies 🙂 But I digress…
Well, this was not one of those times…until I started!
I was presented with a challenge from The Wordy Mom to come up with 10 things that make me happy and write my own post about them.
Immediately I thought of 3 or 4 things…. and then I drew a blank!
I thought to myself – What??!! Are you kidding me?!
If this is all I’ve got then yes, Mission Impossible.
But then you know what happened?
Yup, more and more things started popping into my head and I had to make sure I was writing them all down so I wouldn’t forget.
Then, it became…cue the MI theme music (sorry, am I going overboard with this lol :)) …. how do I narrow it down to only 10?
So, you know what I decided, why not do seasonal editions? (Check out my fall edition, winter edition, spring edition, and summer editions!)
So without further ado, and in no particular order but I will start with what might be an obvious one:
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1. Movies
Yup, who isn’t happy to be at the movies?
The popcorn, the thought-provoking ideas, or my favorite – the fantasy world you get to live in for a bit.
My family and I, are a huge movie-goer family.
There have been times when we’ve gone every weekend for weeks.
We’ve sometimes gone to two in a day!
Now, since my little guy has come into our lives this has been curtailed a bit but I’ve found some great movies through my cable provider and I’ve been working on catching up 🙂
Once he really gets old enough, and believe me we’ve already been talking about it, we’ll be heading back to the movies!
2. My toddler being silly
I’ve been so blessed to have my little man.
And when he’s being silly it just warms my heart so much.
He has such a wonderful sense of humor that, honestly, I’m not sure where it comes from but he cracks me up almost every day.
And it’s never anything big.
It’s a look, it’s a song, it’s a movement.
I’m trying my hardest to soak up these times because I know as he gets older they will probably become less and less but for now, they make me extremely happy.
You know, these are some simple things that make you happy.
But why not look at the little simple things?
Life is about the little – don’t get caught up in the big!
3. Thunderstorms
Nature, what a powerful force!
Now, no, don’t get me wrong, I don’t particularly want to be in a thunderstorm while I’m driving or flying but to be inside, preferably at home listening to a thunderstorm is something that makes me so happy.
The sound of the rain coming down, the thunder, the lightning.
Just love it!
I’ve lived in a few places where it either didn’t rain very much or lived in a house where you couldn’t hear the rain and these have been the times I’ve learned just how happy thunderstorms make me.
4. Fall
Fall is my favorite season.
And it, itself, encompasses so many things that make me happy…. but I won’t go into too much detail here ( as I mentioned above I did a fall edition – check it out here!)
But I will say, the way the trees turn color is top on the list.
The reds, the yellows, the oranges.
The crisp air and getting to start wearing cozy sweatshirts…. ahhh 🙂
And, you know what, just the changing of seasons itself makes me happy.
Have you ever or do you now live somewhere that doesn’t really have a change of seasons?
Do you like it or miss the change?
5. Football
O.k., so I did have to throw this one fall season item in because if you know me, you know that football makes me so happy 🙂
I was a football cheerleader back in the day and was also in marching band so football is huge to me!
I love watching the games, going to games (I can’t wait to take my little guy to his first one!), learning about the game, playing fantasy football, having parties for the game, the Superbowl, supporting my teams, cheering for my teams…o.k., I guess you get the picture 🙂
March through July is a trying time for me 😉
6. Rainbows
The beauty of what this means, the opposition.
How there can be rain/water in the air but then the sun is out and shining.
And then that in turn creates this awesome, beautiful wonder of nature!
I remember the first time I really took note of a rainbow.
I was on a trip with friends and remember thinking ‘things are going to be o.k’, this is going to be a great experience.
I take them as a sign of good things.
There have been several times in my life when a rainbow has come at just the right time to remind me that things will be o.k – and that makes me happy.
7. Dancing
I love to dance.
My parents put me in ballet when I was little and I don’t know if that’s what did it or not but since then it’s been such a thing for me.
I’ve taught it, learned many different forms of it, auditioned for it, moved to NYC for it, watched it – loved watching World of Dance on NBC., and want my little guy to learn it.
If I could dance every day I would.
8. Sunsets
Does anybody else love sunsets?
I’m not sure when I started enjoying them so much but they just make me so happy.
I’m such a nature lover (if you couldn’t tell) and I guess this is just an extension of that love.
The day is ending and you know it’s time to start winding down and settling in for the evening.
The way the clouds move across it.
The different shades of red, orange, and yellow and how those spread through the whole sky.
It’s such a beautiful picture to end your day.
9. Accomplishing tasks
You know that feeling you get when you finally accomplish something and how great that feels?
And I’m not talking, necessarily about big things.
But about everyday things, especially those that I put off.
For example – my chest of drawers in my room had become a catch-all for everything for a few months (o.k., let’s be honest, it was more like 6 or so) and the other day I finally got it cleared off, things put in the proper places and a bit decorated.
I was so happy! It felt so great to get that done!
10. Traveling
Yes, the travel bug.
I have it. And I love it.
It makes me feel alive to be traveling.
The adventure of visiting a new place, the break up of the ‘normalness’ of home life.
My travel form of choice? Flying.
When I was younger I thought it was the coolest thing to be able to fly.
To be walking through the airport, riding on the airplane.
I know, it might sound silly in this day and age but I still feel that way sometimes.
Some people don’t have the means or want to ever travel let alone fly.
It makes me happy and I feel so blessed to be able to and to love to travel.
Well, there you go, everyone! 10 things that make me happy!
I’d like to give a shout-out, again, to The Wordy Mom that presented me with this wonderful and awesome challenge.
I’m so happy (see what I did there ;)) to have had this opportunity to share 10 things that make me HAPPY!
And remember, check out my fall, winter, spring, and summer editions. But now it’s my turn….
{Cue the music – sorry, last time I promise :)}
Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to share with others, or simply yourself 10 things that make you happy.
Try it! You might be pleasantly surprised at actually how many you’ll come up with. Write them down, keep them by your bedside, in your purse, in your wallet. Add to the list every time you think of something or you experience something that makes you happy. If you’d like, feel free to print out this free worksheet to get you started. No email required 🙂
Oh I would love to see you link this up to my gratitude and goals linky.
I’ll definitely look into that! Thanks so much 🙂
This is wonderful! I think we too often wait for the “big” things to make us happy, but really, contentment is found in the little things. Great share!
Thanks and I agree. Sometimes we get stuck on the big things when little things make is happy too!
Our lists are very similar- although coffee is pretty high up on my list 🤣
Lol, love it! If there’s enough chocolate in the coffee then we’d be good 🙂
Yes! My list would be so similar! I love when my toddler acts silly and I get to be goofy with her. I am also really ready for fall and football!
Awesome 🙂 Who’s your team?
Awesome! I’m also a dancer. I’ve been dancing since I was 5, and I still dance and teach. I also love going to the movies. I took my three boys to see the Emoji movie today!
Ah, that’s cool!! Dancing gets in your blood 🙂 Can’t wait to take my little guy!
My daughter is named Iris, it means rainbow. So I’m definitely with you!
I love making these lists. Once, I wrote a master list of everything that made me happy (I think I was about 13) and it had hundreds of items.
I am a ceaselessly positive person, so it comes naturally to me! I love life! There are countless things that bring me joy.
Beautiful name 🙂
Do you still have the list? Love it!
I love Fall! I get to wear hoodies and boots. It is the best time of year I think!
Yea!!!!!! So agree. 🙂
Great post! It’s lovely to read something so positive after the week I’ve had. Thanks!
Thank you and your welcome. Feel free to check out the Thoughts section of my site. You might find other posts there you’ll like 😀
Great post! It’s often the little things that make us truly happy and not necessarily material things. I really love travelling (even though it isn’t cheap!) but I think its one of the things that makes me really happy, to see new places and discover different cultures and taste different kinds of food. My most recent trip was to Spain last month and I loved it!
I feel the same way about travel. I love it!! Spain is beautiful.
I love Fall! I live in San Diego so we don’t really get the changing color of leaves around here and I miss it so much!
I hear ya. Is there anyplace close you could go where the leaves change?
We have so much in common with happiness. Haha, that sounded odd. I LOVE thunderstorms, which is weird because I was in a tornado when I was 3 years old. Fall is by far my favorite season because the leaves are so pretty. My mom would truck me and my brother around to look at the leaves changing when we were small and we would’ve cared less. I’ve been bitten by the wanderlust bug this year and I have traveled to the mountains a couple times. Your toddler is adorable! I hope you guys are having a great day.
That’s awesome 🙂 Wow, well good for you for still loving thunderstorms!! I’ve thought about starting that tradition, traveling around to see fall leaves. I know I’d love it lol. Thanks!!! Hope you’re having a wonderful day too.
What a fun way to curate all the things that make you happy 🙂 I cannot wait for Fall & your post has me more & more excited for football season! Would be a fun post to do the same time every year to see how things have changed.
Go football 🙂 That would certainly be interesting….
What a lovely gratitude list! I’m right there with you on Fall, sunsets, rainbows and dancing 😊. Looking forward to your fall list!
Nice! Thanks! I’m looking forward to sharing it.
I love writing gratitude lists. Your little guy sounds like quite the ham! I saw some toddlers running around playing in the sun by the day camp near my house, and their happiness made me so happy too!
Same here… their happiness is definite contagious!
Accomplishing tasks is my number one happiness tool lol.
I totally understand! It always feels so good to get things done.
I must say that some of the things that make you happy also makes me happy. Great list.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the list!
I cannot tell you how much I love the thunderstorms 🙂
🙂 I didn’t realize there were so many of us out there! (That love thunderstorms) They are great. Thanks.