Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

In the past I’ve shared various definitions and types of happiness, such as momentary pleasure, overall happiness, and long-term contentment. Today I’d like to add well-being to the list. As some researchers note: “Well-being has been defined as the combination of feeling good and functioning well; the experience of positive emotions such as happiness and contentment as well as the development of one’s potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing positive relationships. It is a sustainable condition that allows the individual or population to develop and thrive.” I think that’s what most of us are looking for when we talk about wanting to be happy.   

A few weeks ago, I attended a webinar sponsored by Action for Happiness called “New Ways to Be Happier” with Vanessa King, an expert in positive psychology and author of 10 Keys for Happier Living. During the webinar, she asked the question,

“What practices do you do regularly that you know will help you maintain your well-being long term?” 

That’s a question worth thinking about. 

My personal well-being practices

The first two that came to mind were reading and writing. I don’t feel “right” if I don’t read and write every day. Reading for enjoyment and escape, as well as encouragement, education, and inspiration (see “Some Books That Saved My Sanity” for recommendations from a particularly rough time). 

Writing—journaling in particular—is also a foundational practice.

A few additional practices are important for my well-being, too. These include: spending time outside, regular exercise (primarily walking and yoga), getting together with friends. I also really enjoy art journaling…when I take the time to do it.

More well-being practices

What practices you choose to bolster your well-being are as individual as you are. Some popular practices include:

Practicing gratitude. 

Laughing.

Listening to music.

Finding an inspiring song or quote and writing it down. 

Connecting with your faith through prayer or in community with others.

Seeking help from a counselor.

Practicing mindfulness and/or meditation.

Prioritizing well-being is self-care

When you prioritize your well-being, you’re taking care of yourself—your physical, mental, and emotional health. Yes, self-care enables you to be there for others when you’re needed, but there is no reason to justify caring for your well-being. You are a person, therefore you are “worthy” of care, full stop.

When life gets busy, it’s easy to get sloppy with your well-being practices. It happens to everyone. As soon as you can, though, take a moment and look inside to see what you need. What is your heart, your mind, your body crying out for? Rest? A healthy snack? Fifteen minutes with a good book? A meetup with a friend? A long run (or a short walk)? To stand on the grass with your face to the sun?

Well-being is a topic I’m going to continue to explore for myself and for the blog now that my time isn’t so taken up with major life events. Simply having fewer things scheduled every day contributes to my well-being!

Now it’s your turn: What practices do you do regularly that you know will help you maintain your well-being long term?

For more information:

Tips to Improve Your Emotional Well-Being

National Institutes of Health’s Emotional Wellness Toolkit

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

“The people who want to control us through fear and misinformation—the corporations, marketers, politicians—want us to be plugged into our phones or watching TV, because then they can sell us their vision of the world. If we do not get outside, if we do not take a walk out in the fresh air, we do not see our everyday world for what it really is, and we have no vision of our own with which to combat misinformation.”

—Austin Kleon, Keep Going

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Romantic love gets the glory on Valentine’s Day, and as wonderful as it is, I submit that the love we feel for and from our friends is just as valuable.

I count myself lucky to have friends I’ve collected through high school, college, mothers’ groups, horseback riding, art, and more. I even stay in loose touch with one friend I’ve known since second grade (hi, Julie!). I have friends online I’ve never met in person, and it’s no accident that I begin every Happy Little Thoughts newsletter with the words “Dear friends.” 

Happiness and friendships

Good relationships are the single most important factor of a happy life. We all hope that our family relationships will be positive and uplifting, but sadly that’s not always the case. We get to choose our friends, and those friends can help fill our emotional needs and provide support when we need it. Fun with friends is one of the best joys of life.   

I count my friends as some of my biggest blessings, and I don’t know what I’d do without them.

To celebrate the priceless love of friends this Valentine’s Day, here are 10 quotes highlighting different aspects of friendship. Which one is your favorite?

“Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods. Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life. If I had to give a piece of advice to a young man about a place to live, I think I should say, ‘sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.’”—C.S. Lewis

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“True friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island... to find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.” –Baltasar Gracian

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“It’s not that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but it’s your best friends who are your diamonds. It’s your best friends who are supremely resilient, made under pressure and of astonishing value. They're everlasting; they can cut glass if they need to.”—Gina Barreca

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“Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief”—Marcus Tullius Cicero

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“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.”—Khalil Gibran

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“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.”—Elie Wiesel

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“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”—Anais Nin

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“A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden.”—Unknown

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“True friends are always together in spirit.”—L.M. Montgomery

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“It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Happy Valentine’s Day to all my friends. I love you more than words can say!

 

Photo by Daniel Álvasd on Unsplash

Most of the boxes are unpacked, the old house has a For Sale sign in the front yard, and I haven’t had an appointment with a real estate agent/carpet layer/repair professional for one entire week. Could this be the start of my new normal??

I hope so. It’s been so long since I had a regular writing schedule—or “regular” schedule of any kind—that I’m not sure yet how to proceed. I feel like I did when I started this blog in 2009. Where do I go from here?  

That’s where you come in. Do you still enjoy seeing new posts pop up in your email (see “Subscribe to posts” on the sidebar if you want to receive posts this way), your feed reader, or when you randomly visit Catching Happiness? I am so grateful for the faithful readers who have joined me over the years; your comments have meant so much to me. Is there something in particular you’d like to see covered on Catching Happiness? Is blogging dead and Substack (or another platform) the preferred way to connect?

When my life isn’t absolutely insane, I love writing and curating content for Catching Happiness. I want to keep writing posts about topics such as happiness, positive psychology, and living a rewarding life. I still want to share personal essay-type stories, the occasional Link Love and inspirational quote.

I’ve grown older and my stage of life has changed, so some of my perspectives and favorite topics have changed as well. And likely will continue to change. Experiences that loomed large a few years ago—raising a child, being deeply involved in horsemanship—are no longer quite the same. (I still have the child and the horse, but my day-to-day interaction with both is quite different!) I would like to continue exploring the pursuit of happiness right here, with you.

For now, that’s what I plan to do, unless I get a big wave of feedback that convinces me otherwise. Consider yourself warned. 😊

Image by Albrecht Fietz from Pixabay

By now, many of the people I follow online have shared their lists of goals and expectations for 2025. I’ve been too involved in unpacking, decision-making, and continuing home improvement projects at both our old home and our new one to spend much time contemplating goals and plans for a new year. Truth be told, in the past, I’ve not been very successful at following through on goals intended to be accomplished over the course of a year. This form of goal setting doesn’t work for me.

I still have goals I would like to see accomplished by the end of this year, but I’ve got to find a more effective way to set and break them down. The first approach I’m going to try is to set goals by quarter. This method can take into account seasonal energy shifts, what outside events are taking place in my life, and if something isn’t going well after three months, I can regroup and reevaluate. I’m still figuring this out, but if I make any breakthroughs, I’ll be sure to share them!

What about word of the year?

It’s been my practice for years to choose a word of the year as a sort of theme/guide/stated wish for the year. Some years a word leaps out at me (as in 2018 and 2019). This year, I had to work to find a word that resonated.    

It’s likely that this year’s word was harder to pin down because I have two forces fighting inside me: “Come on, Woman, let’s set new, ambitious goals; let’s be more productive and GET THINGS DONE; c’mon, c’mon, let’s go…”

And

“OK, Sweetheart, it’s been a rough couple of years, let’s take some time to heal and regroup. You’re tired. Why not take care of yourself? You need more down time, not a longer to-do list.”

It took me a few days of test-driving possibilities, but I found a word I think will help with both parts of my inner monologue: Ease.

This word can be both noun and verb. As a noun, ease is the state of being comfortable or relaxed, free of worry or pain. The verb means to free something that pains, disquiets, or burdens; to lessen the pressure or tension; to maneuver gently or carefully to make less difficult.

That sounds perfect.

It is my desire to be comfortable, relaxed and free of worry. It is also my desire to maneuver gently and carefully to make life less difficult.

The last couple of years have worn me down physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’ve spent more time reacting than acting, my time primarily taken up by activities I didn’t ask for or want. There are some areas of my life that still need some tender care to replenish, but I also have more time to use productively in support of outward-facing goals.

Notice the word is ease, not easy. I’m not asking for easy (though easier wouldn’t come amiss). In my mind, ease means a change of attitude and how I approach things. Instead of forcing, rushing, and overscheduling, I will have an attitude of easing them along. I won’t make things harder than they need to be by my own ways of thinking and being. I can see myself turning to ease when I start to feel upset about something—how can I incorporate ease into this situation?

So that’s how far I’ve gotten in planning for the year 2025. I’m easing into it!

Have you set goals for 2025 or chosen a word of the year? What are you looking forward to? Please share in the comments!