Welcome, Happy Activists! A Happy Activist is someone who, through kind words and intentional positive actions, strives to make the world a better place. Live Happy invites you to join our #HappyActs movement! Every month, we encourage everyone to incorporate kindness into your daily lives by participating in each month’s planned activity. The more people who join the #HappyActs movement, the greater the positive impact we’ll all have on our homes, workplaces and communities. What you think and do matters!
October’s Happy Act theme is optimism. Optimistic people feel good about their future and are confident they will achieve positive outcomes. When we adapt to a positive mindset, we enjoy many mental and physical benefits, including lower stress and anxiety, stronger immune systems, better quality sleep and better coping skills. That’s not to say that we put our heads in the sand when bad things happen, but as optimists, we have the power to accept the negativity, deal with it and then move in a positive way.
October’s Happy Act is optimism. People who see the glass half full also have better relationships and social interactions which can spread exponentially to other people. This behavior can create a ripple effect of happiness. Throughout your day, try making as many positive connections as you can. It can be a small gesture, such as a kind smile; or something greater, such as seeking out someone who is feeling down and out and letting them know how much you value them as a person and care about the positive outcomes of their future. Your kind gesture just might be the catalyst to turn someone’s day around. A recent study shows that our optimism can extend vicariously to other people, even strangers, when we hold positive and hopeful views about them.
Our October Happy Activist is author and mental health advocate Mark Simmonds. His latest memoir Breakdown and Repair: A Father’s Tale of Stress and Success tells the story of how Mark went from suffering a mental breakdown due to stress and on the brink of suicide to championing for destigmatizing mental illness. Despite several setbacks, including helping his daughter Emily battle anorexia, Mark’s hope, resilience and optimism have kept him moving toward his goals for better mental health. After six long years, Emily has overcome the illness and is now thriving. “You are going to get confronted with lots of different situations in life,” he says. “When you come out of them, the reward and recognition you will get for showing resilience will be well worth the effort.”
For more on optimism, check out these articles:
The New Definition of Happiness
Cultural Change and Moral Power
A Positive Approach to Problems
