Let me first start off by saying I wasn’t always a believer in the “100 Happy Day Movement." But it was not long after I became aware of the purpose of these accounts by reading about the 100 Happy Day Foundation that I joined the movement myself. @100happydevon was born and I have #noregrets thus far.
I documented my journey on Instagram, but any form of social media works too. Here are 10 reasons why you should challenge yourself to 100 days of happiness.
1. You become more aware of your day-to-day happiness.
Monday: it's as simple as a bowl of ice cream. Tuesday: it's an episode of your favorite Netflix show. Wednesday: it's the feeling of relief after finishing that 10-page research paper that has been hanging over your head for weeks. Thursday: it's a more obvious example of happiness like a trip to your favorite vacation spot, and Friday: it's when your family comes to visit you for the weekend at school. Whatever it is, you are all of a sudden more aware and appreciative of what is making you happy each day and that's a really important thing.
2. You learn how to take control of your own happiness.
It is your responsibility to go out and find your own happiness. You can’t always rely on others to make you happy. I remember one of my best friends who started the challenge at the same time I did said to me when we were about halfway through it: “The best part about happygramming is that it has made me go out more and experience things that I probably never would have done if I didn’t have to do something to make me happy everyday.” No matter how busy or stressed out you are during the day, the challenge forces you to go out, take time for yourself, and do something that will bring a smile to your face.
3. It’s all about YOU.
Happygramming isn’t about how many likes you get on your picture. It isn’t about how many followers you have (if any). It is about you and it is about documenting what makes YOU happy.
4. Warning: It gets addictive, but it's the best kind of addiction.
@100happydevon changed to @365happydevon because I JUST COULDN’T STOP. Trust me, it is not like I needed another social media platform to distract me from all of my non-amusing adult responsibilities. But I just had so much fun being happy that I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
5. You will always have your account to remind yourself of your happiness.
It’s really fun to look back through your account and see what made you smile everyday. The picture below was my first post as a "happy-grammer."
6. Your happiness will inspire others to be happy.
So many of my friends started the challenge after seeing how much fun I was having while completing it.
7. It’s a way to let others know that they make you happy.
A post of a time spent with a friend, a gift, or a simple text can show others that they played a role in your happiness. Like I said, you're doing the challenge for yourself...but what makes you happy might make others feel good too.
8. Typical “Instagram rules” don’t apply.
Posting once a day on your real Instagram account isn’t necessarily considered “Instagram etiquette.” But happygramming is a different story…
9. Why not?
What's the worst that could happen? If you don’t enjoy it, then you don’t have to continue. You have the freedom, the power, the control to make of it what you want.
10. If all those reasons weren't convincing enough…
At the end of your challenge you can make a small donation to the foundation in exchange for prints or a book of your happy-grams.