The Simple Little Thing You Can Do to Be Happier in 2016

I have a little secret.

No one else in the world knows this secret, but I am going to tell you today. So lean in, folks.

Here goes:

I have been writing a list of things that make me happy for over 25 years.

My list is called “The Good Things in Life,” and it currently has 1,791 items on it.

The entire list fills about a notebook and a half.

My entries on the list are simple and short – usually just a word or phrase, and no item is longer than two lines on lined paper.

I used to call the list “Natural Highs.”

How I started writing my own list of natural highs

In 1990, a genius published a little book called 14,000 Things to Be Happy About.

The genius’s name is Barbara Kipfer, and I sincerely hope that she is a multimillionaire right now.

Turns out, that little black and white book sold over a million copies in 1990, and become one of the best selling books of that year. Its sales tied with What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It was a really big deal.

I remember paging through a hard copy of that book at my local bookstore, and thinking that some of the items on the list didn’t particularly resonate with me — but I thought the concept was spectacular.

So later that year (1990), I started my own list. I was a sophomore in high school.

And for 25 years, I have been adding to that list. I used to add to it every few days, and then as I graduated from high school and went to Penn State, it was more like a few times a week, or a couple of times a month.

The list went on, line by line.

The list follows me into adulthood

When I become a busy mom and entrepreneur, the list would often sit for months (or even years) at a time.

But every once in a while, I would think of the notebooks – usually because I wanted to add something to the list – and I’d get the latest book out, dust it off, and start writing more items.

Because adding to this list is like Lay’s Potato Chips – you can’t stop at just one.

Once I start thinking of little things that make me happy, I just want to keep going – because the practice of writing these items gives me a little jolt of joy.

And over the years, the list has grown and grown and grown. When I filled one notebook, right around 2005, I started a new one. I figure at this rate, by the time I reach old age and die, I might have the privilege of filling four or five notebooks with my own little snippets of gratitude and joy.

That’s not a bad legacy, if you ask me.

I like the idea of my family finding these little bits of me after I pass on, like maybe it would make them smile and say, “Yep, that sounds about right.” Because there’s not a single word in this notebook that isn’t right from my heart. Every line was added in my handwriting, in pencil, on notebook paper. Line by line and year by year, it gives an accounting of my entire adult life.

This list is a journal. It’s a practice. It’s a balm.

And when I read and add to this list, I feel better.

I think about how awesome my life really is – and how incredible it has been for many, many years.

No, my life is not perfect. But how could I possibly be unhappy when I have compiled nearly 2,000 things that have made me happy over the last 25 years?

Here’s what is important for you, as a business owner

I’ve heard “Happiness Experts” say one of the best things you can do to become a happier person is cultivate gratitude. Apparently keeping a gratitude journal next to your bed, and writing down 5 things you were grateful for (every day) is a really good way to become a significantly happier person.

I think that is awesome. But I am, well….let’s say….not quite that disciplined. So I have my notebooks, instead. And I write down things that make me happy — whether it’s something big (sometime during the year 2003, I wrote down “My toddler learning to talk”) or tiny (“Oprah Magazine” and “Gilmore Girls”) or ridiculous (“the pen I accidentally stole from Lori” and “bendy straws”).

Some of the items from the first notebook are so old I don’t remember what they are, or what the heck I was thinking when I wrote them. Case in point: What does “MALCOLM” mean? Who is Malcolm, and why did I write his name in all caps?

But it doesn’t actually matter if I remember all of them. I remember most of them. And even if half of these items fall out of memory by the time I turn 85, I will still cherish this list. I will have notebooks full of things I appreciated and loved. Things I loved enough to actually WRITE THEM DOWN. On paper. And for a writer, that’s really the greatest compliment of all – right?

I say, “If you love it, write it down.”

A gratitude practice – whatever practice works for you – can make a huge difference in your happiness level. That means you’ll feel happier and more satisfied in your personal AND professional lives.

We’re at the start of a new year, so I’d like to humbly recommend that you start your own “Good Things in Life” list. Buy a fun notebook, and start writing on page one. Make your list easy to find and fun to add to. Write your own “Good Things” down for 6 months, and see how you feel.

My bet is that you’re going to feel better about your life, no matter what problems and troubles you’re dealing with. Your business and your mental health level will probably improve tremendously.

In case of fire, make a beeline for your list

My list is now so old that I can actually see how radically different my handwriting was, 25 years ago. The list is so old that the pages in the first notebook are starting to yellow a little bit in the corners.

But if my house caught on fire today, these two notebooks are two of the first things I would grab.

Because everyone needs to know what makes them happy — and I currently have 1,791 things that do just that.