This Friday the 20th March is International Day of Happiness. Happiness can be hard to find, especially when we don’t know what it is we’re looking for. We are told success will make us happy but this is rarely the case and is often a temporary elation when it is found. The mindset of ‘I’ll be happy when… I’m rich/famous/successful’, stops us from being happy now. You need only look at celebrities to realise that success, fame and riches is not what leads to happiness.
So what does?
Robert Waldinger’s Ted Talk ‘What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness’ detailing a 75 year Harvard Study of 724 men, tells us that good relationships lead to being happier and healthier.
How do we form these good relationships? We need a positive attitude.
This involves hope, confidence and perseverance, rather than senseless optimism or toxic positivity. We need to be hopeful so that even when we are rejected, we won’t give up on making a friend or finding love. We need confidence to talk to new people, confidence that the relationships we form will be good ones. We need the perseverance given by a positive attitude so that even when things do get tough we can keep our relationships strong.
Positivity is necessary to form good relationships.
If our happiness is dependent on long-lasting good relationships, a positive attitude must also involve honest communication. This is also the number one thing most long distance couples will tell you is the secret to their success!
Talking through problems, being open with your emotions, telling the person how they make you feel, are all vital to nurturing any relationship, not only romantic ones. The trouble is, insecurity, embarrassment, fear of being hurt, and other things can get in the way of honest communication, to the detriment of all kinds of relationships.
How can we combat this and honestly and effectively communicate?
There is a book called The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and it is a fantastic guide to human relationships. According to Dr. Chapman, there are five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch. Some people hear in one and speak in another- If you’d like to take the quiz to find out your love language or buy the book click here
For more information on making and keeping good relationships, you can listen to Holly Blossom’s new podcast Tea with HB The episode ‘Positivi-tea’ is all about Happiness and Relationships!
Once we make good relationships, we want to create memories. In times of difficulty we forget to remember the good things. Gratitude journaling can be really helpful to keep us in a positive mindset and remind us of all the things that make us happy. But if you’re like me and you forget to use your diary or struggle to find the time to write things down, physical reminders can be really helpful.
My Icon Story was founded to help people memorialise happy adventures and life moments so if you have a story you want to remember you can make your own here! Below are just a few recent customer examples to inspire you.
Inbetweener (700mm x 200mm) with black wooden frame on Pantone colour of the year Blue background
Michaela created this My Icon Story for her best friend when her and her boyfriend of 10 years got engaged. The icons represent their relationship from when they first met, bought their first home together, celebrated relationship milestones and of course the date they got engaged. This print features a number of special icons including two from our licensed brand collections (Love Hearts and Transport for London), and the ring icon you see is a bespoke design based on Daisy’s actual engagement ring.
Small & Mighty (500mm x 200mm) with black wooden frame on rainbow gradient background
“The Icon story I designed was for my Sister and Brother-in-law for Christmas, they loved it! The Icons represent them and the things they like. I chose a rainbow background because my sister loves rainbows, as do I.” Gaby Azagury
Inbetweener (700mm x 200mm) on pale grey with white wooden frame
From the story of your relationship, special life moments or achievements, there is a My Icon Story in us all.
