Morning Thoughts on Happiness

One of those “A year ago today” pictures popped up on my phone this morning. When I looked at it, the same feeling I felt on that day washed over me: unadulterated happiness. The joy I felt as a kid on a regular basis.

“Should I do a flip? I’m going to do a flip,” I told my sister.

“Okay, I’ll do a dive,” she replied.

“I’m nervous!” I said.

“Me too!” she screamed.

We laughed.

It felt as if we had been magically whisked two decades into the past, to a scorching summer day at our grandparents’ pool – with the diving board that bounced you so high it can’t have been legal.

“On three, okay?” I instructed.

“Okay!” she responded with the discipline of a cadet.

I counted backwards as if my voice were in slow motion, “Threeeee… twooooo… oneeee…”

Neither of us jumped, and we blamed each other, exclaiming in unison, “Why didn’t you jump?” Our laughter grew and grew because our laugh was the same, and even after all these years, it was still ever so amusing.

“Okay, let’s do it!” I declared.

“We’ve got this!” she affirmed.

“Three, two, one!” we said together.

I hit the water with force; my sister gracefully slipped in – perhaps a reflection of our personalities.

“That was fun!” … “Yeah, that was fun,” we took turns saying with child-like grins as we swam up to the boat to do it again.

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Reflecting on the moments when we feel our best is a powerful tool for building happiness. When you can pinpoint what makes you feel good, you can try to do more of it.

As I reminisce about that day with my sister, and even as I write this short piece, my mood has already brightened considerably.

Can you recall the last time you felt pure happiness?

Tschüss, pfiati, ciao, bye-bye!