Happiness is Trending

At Women of Influence this week, we have all been talking about our most enjoyable moments from the August long weekend. For me, I was happiest belting out tunes with the family to pass the time in the rain, watching my brother teach my kid how to catch his first wave on a boogie board, and getting lost on a forest trail as I followed my heart (rather than directions) on a run. I hope everyone in our Women of Influence community created their own fun memories, as well.

Holiday weekends often lead to this kind of joyful reminiscing for days and years to come, but it isn’t the only time that the theme of being happy is bubbling to the surface in our discussions. In many of my recent interactions with fellow Women of Influence—from England to Toronto, from conversations to my news feed—I’m tuning in to the topic of happiness. This desire for the ages appears to be a hot new trend.

Here are just a few of the things our community is getting inspired by:

• Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Think explains the benefits of changing the direction of our attention, from the thoughtful and well-written perspective of a behaviour expert with the training of an economist.
• Happy is a feature documentary from an Academy Award nominated director that explores what happiness means in countries around the world (also available on Netflix)
• Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey lead 21 days of guided meditation in their digitally streamed program, Expanding your Happiness
• An article explaining that happy people do not wait, from a website “dedicated to the mindful life”

Feeling stuck for your own inspiration? I find it helpful to use jumping off points. This could be anything from a picture (try typing in “happiness” on Pinterest), to a brand (I use Chanel to inspire all my outfits), to a feeling (I love running through the tall trees, not quite sure where I am or how I’m going to get out, because I’m looking for adventure!).

What’s your jumping off point?

Go find an image, quote, scent, shoe, whatever—and get inspired to feel the way you want, and live happy.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller