August, with its long days and sunny disposition, is a great month to enjoy activities that we know bring us joy, try new habits to maximize our wellbeing, and let happiness happen. Perhaps because of this, August is known as “Happiness Happens Month,” which is an observance the Society of Happy People has been celebrating for over two decades now. This is a great time to put the principles of positive psychology into action. The field of positive psychology provides research-proven habits, behaviors, and techniques that can help not only generally raise your happiness and levels of life satisfaction, but can build your resilience to stress as well, making you a happier and healthier person for decades to come.

Some of these activities are things you may be doing anyway, some may be habits you didn’t realize could impact you so much, and some may feel brand new. This month, I’ll be sharing resources, challenges, and ideas for habits you can make part of your life to maximize your happiness and even affect those around you.  (You can read a lot more about this in my book, 8 Keys to Stress Management, but keep reading for more on happiness strategies below.)

You probably already know some of the things that make you happy. However, building a happier life through new habits and structure can take things a little deeper and help you to build resilience. Certain habits can be build into your life that can make a significant difference with your wellbeing, resilience, and daily feelings of joy. Here are a few:

• “What Went Well?” One habit that has been found to increase happiness and decrease levels of stress and even depression is the habit of reviewing your day each evening and looking at what went well in your day. Specifically, psychologist and researcher Martin Seligman found that reviewing three things that went well–and reviewing why they went well–can bring a significant shift in perspective and a lasting lift in mood. This works in part because you are actively looking at what is working in your life and reminding yourself that, even if some things aren’t going as you’d hoped, many things are going as planned, or even surprise you with how well they are working. (This shifts the mind’s natural negativity bias where we notice what’s going wrong more readily than we notice what’s going right.) A second benefit to this practice is that it forces you to look at some of the resources that are helping things to go well, whether it is the help of a friend, a stroke of luck, or your own preparation and strengths. This can give you a more positive, confident outlook and head off stress before it even occurs!
• “Big Three” Each morning, you may want to identify three things that you hope to accomplish in this day. This practice helps you to identify the most important areas of your life that most deserve your focus for each day, helping you to avoid that overwhelmed feeling when the sheer size of your to-do list eclipses the number of hours in the day. This also allows you to feel more confident in your ability to tackle the tasks of the day, which lead you to feel excited about your day rather than drained by it. This enthusiasm (or at least the feeling that the day is manageable) can help you to focus more on what brings you joy, find time for activities that bring more meaning to your life, and enjoy your day more as you move through it.
• “Pleasures” These activities bring a smile to your face and joy to your heart without much effort on your part. Research from psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky shows that the practice of adding pleasurable activities to your day can lift your mood just enough to shift your perspective in a positive way and create an “upward spiral of positivity” that broadens your perspective and builds resilience. This broadened perspective allows you to see new opportunities and take advantage of them, to capitalize on your resources, and to have the confidence to take positive action in your life. This positive action leads to more positive feelings, perpetuating the upward spiral. “Pleasures” can consist of anything you enjoy, including a walk in nature, a talk with a friend, dancing to music you enjoy (even if you’re just alone in your room), food you love, playing with pets, or other simple activities that you know you like. Scheduling at least one (and preferably several) of these activities into each day can bring you a greater sense of wellbeing. It can also bring you more success in your life!

What activities bring you joy? How does happiness happen for you? This month, starting today, I challenge you to focus on adding a few pleasures to each day, identifying your “big three,” and recapping what went well each day. Give yourself a pat on the back, and check back here for more tips and resources this month. I have some exciting things to share with you.