News flash: Moods are contagious. Have you noticed that when you hang out with a bunch of sad and depressed people, you’ll start to feel down? And when you are in a group of happy people, you can’t help but start to smile. Just like in everything else, you become the average of the six people you spend the most time with. It makes sense to surround yourself with happy people if you want your own level of happiness to increase.

Does this mean that you should shut all people who aren’t super happy out of your life? Of course not. We all have important people in our lives whom we love and cherish even if they don’t have the sunniest outlook on life. Plus we all have happier, and sadder seasons in our lives. It would be horrible if we avoided loved ones during tough times.

Break out your journals…

Instead, what I suggest is that you take note of the happy people in your life. Who are your cheerleaders that will cheer you on no matter what and who will put a smile on your face anytime you spend time with them? Take note of those positive people you encounter, whether they are friends, family, or even just acquaintances. Build a support system of happy people that you can turn to when you’re feeling down. It’s like taking vitamin Happy!

Along the same lines, you want to be careful about the negative and sad people around you, and how they affect your own mood. These are the people who generally have nothing positive to say. They complain a lot, or they’re angry about everything, or they’re unhappy most of the time. When you’re having a hard time and are struggling with your own happiness levels, it may be better to avoid people that you know will bring you further down. You’d rather increase your time with your team of cheerleaders, or your happiness support system. Again, this doesn’t mean that you need to completely shut people out of your life, just take note of their energy and how they affect you, and spend time with them accordingly. As quickly as possible, do something from the list you created in the first couple of days to bring your energy back up.

Spread it around

When you are happy, don’t be afraid to share that happiness and spread it around. Smiling, laughing, and feeling good about life is contagious. Spread the joy as much as you can. Soak it up from happy people around you when you’re not feeling your personal best. Call up that friend that can instantly make you feel better, and talk to people around you who love and care for you about this idea of contagious happiness. Let them know when you could use some cheering up and then return the favor. Because, let’s face it, we all have times when we’re happier and in a much better mood than other days. Make it a habit to build each other up and create that happiness support system. It will make a huge difference in your life and those around you.

You can give and get some of that support from the Happiness Habit Facebook group – if you haven’t joined, now is a good time!