10 Reasons to be Happy

February. It’s a dismal time of year. A grey procession of melting snow and endless drizzle, topped only by the return of January exams and Christmas essays, without even the looming promise of summer to get you through.

So after a particularly dreary week I decided a pick-me-up was well and truly needed. Whilst I would normally turn to the fleeting pleasures of internet shopping and New Girl re-runs to lighten my mood, this time something more enlightening was required.

“Happiness is a choice.” I bleated to my down-in-the-dumps housemate earlier today after a cold and uni stress had got the better of her.

And that’s when I realised. I wasn’t just parroting Cosmo’s You You You section; happiness really is a choice. Yes, we can’t all decide whether we land our dream job, date our dream guy or have our dream life. But we can decide whether to be happy with what we’ve got.

So here it goes: my ten reasons and ways to be happy; a sort-of definitive, and mostly tried-and-tested route to a cheerier day. It may not change your life, but here’s hoping it perks up your afternoon.

1. It’s all About the Little Things

Hot baths, a good book, a glass of wine with friends. Maybe even something as little as finding a new lipstick in the exact shade you were looking for, or catching up on your feel-good TV programme.

Life is all about the little surprises and occurrences that brighten your day, and focusing on how something small makes you temporarily happy and fulfilled is the first step to being happy. Every day presents you with a hundred new chances to do something you enjoy, so seize it, and truly love and appreciate the tiny things that make you smile.

2. The World Is Your Oyster

When things aren’t quite going the way you’d always planned (skipping into your dream job straight after graduation anyone?) it’s easy to feel lost. Getting caught up in a spiral of wailing about how my fate clearly lies in moving back in with my parents and working at ASDA forever to anyone who’ll listen is one of my current tics, and clearly it’s easy to forget that your future is what you make it.

True, we can’t always have total control over what career we get, or where we end up, but there are still lots of things we can decide. When the next few years are looking a bit hazy, remember that whether you spend this time wallowing in doubt or looking forward to this new openness is completely down to you.

Dream, plan and travel; maybe you won’t end up doing all the things you want to, but be aware how many possibilities are open to you. Looking forward to the things you can achieve, and maybe even doing a few of them, is the ultimate mood and life lifting experience.

Girls Party Holiday in Zante may not be life-changing travelling but it's close enough!

3.Make the Most of what you’ve got

First World Problems. They’re the hilarious stuff of memes and tweets everywhere, where the privileged get a chance to satirically whine about the problem between finding the perfect balance between a fan and an electric blanket, or how they don’t have the newest iphone.

Whilst most of us are probably guilty of sniggering at the odd non-issue, few of us take the time to consider how much insignificant our own worries are. Chasing after our ideal image of life, it’s easy to get upset when things aren’t quite living up to our lofty expectations.

At times like this, it’s important to take account of the things you do have. Your friends, your family, your education, your health. All factors that not everyone is lucky enough to possess. So next time you get caught up in your hapless love-life or imperfect grades, remember the things you do have, and take the time to make the most of them.

4. Live the Life you Love

Your parents, your teachers, even the media. Everyone seems to have an idea of how your life should be going. The kind of career you should be suited to, the kind of person you should be with, the kind of route your life should take. Most people’s lives quickly become a construction of the expectations of others as soon as they’re old enough to be influenced.

Make sure you frequently take a step back from your life and question your own motives. Maybe what you really want to do is travel instead of diving straight into the rat race. Maybe you want to drop the playing-it-safe life path and take the time to attempt something people said you could never achieve. So what’s stopping you?

One of my best friends recently did a complete u-turn, dropping her applications for a cut-throat city career she’s always planned to apply to be a maths teacher, and she’s never seemed happier or more fulfilled. Make sure the reasons you’re doing something are genuine. You only get one chance at this, so take your own chances, not someone else’s.

5. Surround yourself with the People who Care

Sometimes a friend who gets your sense of humour is all you need...

Seems obvious, but it’s one we all sometimes need reminding of. No one will lift your mood more than a good friend who’s genuinely concerned by your problems, and better yet, no one will offer greater advice. And if not advice, then at least a large glass of wine and a few episodes of Snog Marry Avoid.

6. Happiness is Now

One of my pet-hates is people who make themselves miserable in pursuit of some mythical future where everything will be ecstatically perfect. True, at times we have to sacrifice a fancy-free party lifestyle in order to get where we want to be, but you never have to sacrifice your happiness.

Want to know a secret? Nobody is unremittingly happy. Even if you end up with your dream lifestyle, everyone has down days and up days, and most importantly, being unhappy now won’t make it any better when you get there. So stop wasting your time ‘looking forward’ to the day you’re married with a six-figure salary, and start looking forward to now.

This is how happy new shoes make me

7. Therapy Comes in All Forms

And perhaps most importantly, in the form of retail. OK, so this may be hopelessly materialistic, and I’m certainly not saying that a brand new LBD is the secret to a perfect life. All I’m saying is that there’s always shoes. This is my therapy; find yours. There’ll always be something silly and inconsequential which will become your fail-safe pick-me-up no matter what life throws at you, and if you can work out whether platforms or heels would go best with that new maxi skirt, sometimes the big problems can wait.

8. You are the Key to your Own Happiness

When true unhappiness hits, the kind that makes you not want to crawl out of bed and causes you to question yourself, remember this: the only person who can make a difference to yourself is you. We all have times when we’re truly unhappy with ourselves; the choices we’ve made, the way we live our lives-- and it’s a truly nasty feeling. But you’re lucky and powerful enough to be able to act on it.

Hit the gym for some feel good endorphins, read or listen to something that is beautiful and opens your mind, put your passion into practice and blog or start a band. You are the person who gets to decide who you are, the things you know and do, and the life you live. Make the most of it. 

9. Today is Another Day

Every day is a new opportunity to be happy. Start today.

10. You Are Alive

The world is a beautiful, incredible place. All the things you want or that would make you happy are out there; you just have to find them.

Always remember: happiness isn’t about what you have, it’s about what you make of it. Have a very cheery day!