Can you be happy for 100 days in a row? That’s how the challenge began when I first saw my friend Roxanne posting something with the hashtag #100happydays on her Instagram. So intrigued by this notion and so curious on what it was all about, I wanted to get to the bottom of all this “happy talk” (other than hearing Pharrell singing about it on repeat on every radio station). I was then led to the website www.100happydays.com where I learned about this movement that so many people were already joining in on! The task sounded simple enough. Each day for the next 100 days post a picture on your social media of something that makes you happy that day along with the hashtag #100happydays or a customized version of that of your own. At first I was so excited to take part of this challenge because it sounded cool and fun! But as the days went on, I slowly started getting anxious, nervous, and stressed about not being able to come up with a “Happy Day” moment. What was I going to post? What was going to make me happy? After a few days, I started feeling like I might not actually be able to do this successfully because it seemed just too hard. But one thing led to another and one day it just hit me– you shouldn’t have to go out of your way to “be happy”. Nothing grand or amazingly over the top awesomeness needs to happen each day for you to have a happy moment. In fact, what I soon realized with my posts is that my happy days and moments ended up being the most minuscule things like going to get ice cream with my sister or doing a movie night with my friends. You see, being happy isn’t and shouldn’t be a so-called “challenge”. Instead, if we learn to appreciate all the amazing things, people, and moments we have all around us already, you’ll come to see that every day is filled with happy moments. I think the most precious thing I gained from this all is getting into the habit of stopping to point out what makes me happy each day and appreciating that happy moment, in that very moment. While I’m not going to lie that I am relieved that I no longer am under the pressure of forgetting to document my happy moment of my day, it’s at the same time a very bittersweet feeling being done with this “challenge” and not sharing, remembering, and being able to look back on moments as great as the past 100. My #100happydays may end today, but what I’ve come to learn from this all is that being happy is actually endless.
If you haven’t been following my Happy Days Challenge on Instagram at @iamfashionlaine, relive my 100 Happy Days with me below. And if you haven’t done this challenge, I highly recommend it because what you gain from it is priceless. Happy 100th Day!
What do you think?