Happy as a Pig in Sh__, I Mean Excrement

A friend shared the article below on Facebook and I decided to create a related post.

Six Things Really Happy People Do

1. They clearly define happiness.

 What's my definition of happiness? It's the spontaneous overflow of rainbows, unicorns, and fluffy puppies. In other words, happiness is doing what you love, surrounded by the people you love and who love you. Short, sweet, and to the point. The fun part though is that this can be different for everyone.

2. They find pleasure in the little things.

 I'm all about the little things. No, really. I have a thing for things in small packages. Like those mini soda bottles and little kids' clothes (I have two younger siblings). They're so dang adorable!

How precious are these?!

But I also close my eyes on the Metro North train platform and enjoy the sun warming my face. I take immense pleasure in eating Gummi Lifesaver Collisions off my fingers. A spoonful of Haagen Dazs Mango ice cream is equivalent to a week in heaven. A rainy day + my bed + a good book = Priceless. 

P.S. Cats 2 and 3 are in the danger zone. Between girl and books.

3. They believe in their own self-worth.

It took a while for me to get to where I am. When I think about how I was in 8th grade, I can't help but cringe. I didn't have low self-esteem per say, but I definitely didn't have confidence in my abilities or believe that I had anything to offer to the world. I was this rectangle box shaped girl, no where near 5 feet, while all of the other girls seemed to be exploding in all directions (both horizontally and vertically). I seemed to be stunted. Being so small, I had a timid personality and being a bookworm didn't help. I avoided confrontation like the plague, going along with whatever my friends wanted even if I was uncomfortable or didn't like it. I wouldn't argue or speak up for myself even if I'd been slighted. 

But I started high school and decided to change. I became a little more assertive, found an amazing group of friends that I fit in perfectly with. The key is that I didn't change who I was; I was still small, fairly timid with others who were not my friends, and avoided confrontation, but I simply kept my head down until I found like-minded people. Then we spent the next three years just being weird together.

College came around and lord have mercy, the universe wasn't quite ready for my transformation. I'm not even sure what happened, but I went from the timid, polite girl I was during my freshman year of college to the brash, absolutely crazy, girl who could care less what others thought that I am now. I used to be so shy, but now I barely feel any flutters in my stomach when I need to talk to strangers. I've become so confident in what I can do that it's bordering on conceit and my weaknesses don't bother me in the slightest. I simply work harder to improve them. Sure there are things that bother one. But one day at a time is all I can do. In short, I realized something that I wish I could go back and tell my 13-year-old self: You're flipping awesome, Fatuma, and you and those who matter will realize and look at you in awe. Just be patient. It'll take a few years (seven to be exact), but you will get there my dear and hardly ever look back.

4. They take continuous action for self-improvement.

 I'll let a buzzfeed article answer this one for me: 25 Signs You're Addicted to Books, particularly #10.

10. Anytime you undertake any idea or project, the first step is to read a lot of books about it.

Source: teacoffeebooks.tumblr.com

You assume that a book can teach you anything.

5. They graciously impact others.

I really like helping people. It's the reason I went into Education. I want to play a role in giving young people the tools they need to succeed. But even in everyday life, my biggest impact I hope is to make people feel good. I love making people smile and laugh. I'm not particularly funny, but I am extremely silly and I'm not afraid to act ridiculous in the name of making someone laugh. I like to tease and poke others until they pop a smile. I take it as my duty to ensure that everyone around me is in Optimal Cheer Mode, like this little guy below. 

6. They live in a constant state of gratitude.

Arg, this one. Okay, so if I didn't have at least one flaw, I'd be intolerably perfect, no? So, #6 is my Achilles heel. I can sometimes be a little (just a teeny weeny bit) ungracious. In other words, I can sometimes be a little whiny brat and Facebook gets the brunt of my complaints. I'll try to work on it, scout's honor! 

 So, what about you guys? Are you happy?