The workshop I did last week was about having and maintaining happiness. One of the tips I shared from Shawn Achor’s, Happiness Advantage, was about infusing positivity into your surroundings. Research shows that just 20 minutes outdoors on a pretty day can not only boost your mood, but also broaden your thinking and improve your working memory.

I have recognized this myself. Sitting on my screened-in back porch is such a delight for me. I get to do that more now since I am home more and can do my writing there. It is just an added blessing that the inspiration for writing seems to flow more freely in that atmosphere. That is actually where I am right now! Spring is such a beautiful time of year with all the new growth and colorful trees and flowers, which makes my surroundings even more positive!

Studying and preparing to present on the subject of happiness taught me that there are so many small changes we can incorporate into our day-to-day lives that are proven to actually raise our happiness baseline. This means that even when our mood fluctuates, we experience higher highs and higher lows. Our overall happiness is greater!

Why wouldn’t we want to make a little change in order to make our life happier?! I encourage you to add positivity to your surroundings today so that you can live! . . . your life to the fullest.