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! On the 20th of each 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!
September’s Happy Act theme is resilience. The ability to persevere and reach your goals no matter what obstacles stand in your way is attributed to your resilience. Like many strengths, resilience builds like a muscle for the times when you need it the most. People who are resilient tend to find more positive outcomes in life, see hope in dire situations, view adversities as challenges to overcome and are more likely to help others achieve their goals.
September’s Happy Act is to strengthen your resilience by being supportive. If you are a resilient person, then odds are that you have overcome adversity in your life and have developed the coping skills to get you through those hard times. According Dr. Morley Glicken’s book Learning From Resilient People, using your skills to help other people through their time of need not only eases their stress, but strengthens your social bonds with the people you are helping. This adds meaning to your life and increases your happiness. Think about someone in your life that can use your support and write out an action plan with steps on how to accomplish that goal. Leave some room to write down how you feel after completing this task.
Our September Happy Activist is champion boxer and mental health advocate Mia St. John. Mia has endured serious tragedies in her life. In 2014, her son Julian, a long-time sufferer of mental illness, fell victim to suicide. Earlier this year, her ex-husband and father to Julian, Kristoff St. John passed away. Soon after, she lost 30 years of sobriety. “There was a point where I thought that I would not recover and I was at my lowest low,” she explains. “There was nowhere to go, I felt, but up. That's my personality.”
She says when she finds herself having to make the choice of hope over despair, she has no choice but to keep up the good fight. “I never stop fighting my way through the storm.”
Now, Mia is making it her mission to help parents, educators, friends and spouses identify the signs of mental illness so loved ones can get the help they need. She created the Mia St. John Foundation to help empower people suffering from mental illness, addiction, poverty and homelessness. Because of her advocacy and dedication, she is giving people an opportunity to overcome adversity and restore self-worth. “All of us have suffered in our lives," Mia says. "Change comes always and nothing stays the same—not the good or the bad. By overcoming our obstacles, we evolve as humans.”
For more information on resilience, check out the links below:
Building Resilience and Well-Being With Karen Reivich
5 Essential Factors for Raising Resilient Kids
Time to up your #HappyActs game. Help us spread global happiness by becoming a Happy Activist and host your very own Happiness Wall. Learn how you can host a wall at your school, business or organization and find out how to create your own fantastic wall using one of our Happy Acts Wall Kits.
