Are you a glass half full or half empty person? Did you know you can choose to see how full the glass is? In fact, you often have a choice in how you view things, and that choice determines how happy you feel.

Happiness becomes a choice you get to make every single day.

You can choose to see the glass as half empty, focus on the fact that you’re almost done drinking that nice glass of iced tea (or your favorite beverage). With that attitude, you’re more likely to feel a little depressed about your tea. On the other hand, if you focus on the fact that the glass is still half full and that you have plenty of yummy ice-cold tea to sip on, your mood improves and you increase your happiness.

When you look at it that way, happiness really is a conscious choice you make, at least to a point. From what I’ve been reading, 40% of your happiness is directly affected by how you think and how you choose to feel. And that’s what the next 30 days is all about. Over the coming days I will post here on the blog daily with tips, advice, and strategies to help you make a conscious decision to be happier. Ready to join me?

Creating habits consciously and consistently works.

It takes time and daily conscious decisions to change habits and how we approach life. That’s where the challenge comes into play. The idea is that you have a daily reminder here on the blog and via email each day to help you remember to make that choice. Of course there will also be plenty of helpful content on the topic of happiness in the form of a new daily blog post. At the end of the challenge, I hope you have formed new habits, new ways of thinking, and new ways to look at each situation as it arises. With a little shift in thinking and perception, you can craft a happier, more fulfilling life for yourself. I hope this challenge will help you get there.

It’s why I decided to do this for the coming 30 days. Since happiness is a choice, and a choice we make every single day, I want to challenge you to make it a habit. Over the coming days, I want to inspire and encourage you to make a choice each morning to be happier.

To get to a new destination, you have to know where you are.

So, to be able to recognize the progress you’ve made at the end, take an inventory right now of how happy you are in general, and in some specific areas. We’ll do this twice more, at day 15 and day 30. Get some paper (physical or digit), maybe start a journal (hint: this comes up later, so why not start now?), and rate yourself as follows:

General overall Happiness on a scale of 1 – 10. 1 = feeling very, very sad most of the time. 10 = completely uplifted, and cheerfully competing with the bluebirds.

Relationship Happiness (1-10):  [note: every contact you have with another living being is a relationship; the happier you are with more of them, the happier your relationship number can be]

Avocation Happiness (1-10): [where you are passionate; what lights you up; hobbies, charitable work, life-time learning all fall under Avocation]

Occupation Happiness (1-10): [what you get paid for doing; if you’re not working, and you love it anyway, that scores at least an 8!]

Health Happiness (1-10): [if you’re good with your body, score yourself higher. It makes no difference what other people think…oops, jumping ahead again!)

Spiritual Happiness (1-10): [however you relate to any supernatural agency or Humanity as a collective whole]

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To get and give support and encouragement from total strangers (also sometimes called “accountability”), get access to our awesome Happiness Habits 2016 Challenge Facebook group here. It’s a private group, so you can only access it if you’re on the email list.

To get a reminder prompt from me via email to make sure you don’t miss a post, sign up for the 30 Day Happiness Challenge here: