‘Perfect happiness is a beautiful sunset, the giggle of a grandchild, the first snowfall. It’s the little things that make happy moments, not the grand events. Joy comes in sips, not gulps.’ — Sharon Draper

People all around the globe are dealing with changes to our everyday lives because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it is a challenging time for us all, it's incredibly important to find little moments of joy and happiness to encourage us through. It's easy to think that discovering happiness demands a massive change in our life, but we forget that, that kind of happiness is temporary and fleeting.

Having a change in perspective on your life where you find joy in the smallest of things in your day can have a lot more of a lasting effect. You may have found this quite difficult over the past few months. So throughout this blog, our question for you is, what makes you happy?

How to Show Gratitude and How to Be Thankful

“The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles.” ~William Penn 

To put it simply, gratitude is the act of being thankful. It's the acknowledgement for all the things, situations and people in your life. Practising gratitude can have so many benefits to your life; it can increase physical and emotional wellbeing, strengthen relationships, increase self-worth and SO much more. It's important to learn how to be thankful, how to show gratitude and above all, how to enjoy the little things in life. Here are some ways that you can start...

Start with the little moments 

As we mentioned above, learning how to be grateful and thankful doesn’t have to be saved for the “big” things in life. Begin to appreciate every good thing in life and recognize that there is nothing too small for you to be thankful for. 

- Celebrate for that hot cup of coffee in the morning before you begin your hectic day

- Celebrate good weather by taking out a friend and going for a walk

- Celebrate getting through a difficult task with doing something you enjoy

Keep a gratitude journal

Write it all down! Keeping a journal of all the things you are thankful for is one of the greatest things that you can do to practice gratitude. Focus your attention on what you are thankful about and fully focus. While you're writing, you'll be consciously working on pushing those distracting and ungrateful thoughts away. Start to journal every day or come back to it on a weekly or monthly basis. Or whenever you are needed some gratitude reminders. 

Mindfulness and Meditation: Start your day with HAPPY

Another way to learn how to be thankful is to practice mindfulness. Take a few minutes to focus on your breathing, concentrating on the present moment is important to this practice. It allows you to be more aware of your surroundings and your life in the now. Instead of dwelling on the past and everything on negative emotions, mindfulness teaches you to focus on the present and pay attention to what nurtures you.

Our uplifting citrus and mint aromatherapy blend delivers an instant burst of positivity and is perfect when expressing moments of gratitude. Use HAPPY as part of our Wellbeing Ritual.

Thank your Family and Friends

Show your appreciation for others and let them regularly know that you are grateful for them and for what they do for you. You may offer help when they need it, or make them a handmade card to celebrate their birthdays and anniversaries. You could even surprise them with a spontaneous gift. There are many ways to show gratitude for your loved ones, give it a go. 

Hopefully, some of our recommendations can help you find joy in the little moments. In times like these, we need to look after ourselves more than ever. Leave a comment if any of these tips have helped you!