Newsletter: Make it more fun
This week's newsletter is all about how to find more joy in your daily activities.
We launched our newest work, New Happy Animations this week! They bring our artwork to life through the power of movement and music, and offer you a moment of peace in your busy feeds. I hope you like them!
Moving forward, you can find them on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and on our website.
Have a good week,
Stephanie Harrison, founder of The New Happy
This Week
One of the best ways to bring more joy to our daily lives is to look to the places where there's an absence of it.
There are two common places to look. First, every day we have to do some things that are not the most fun or enjoyable things in the world: chores, errands, habits, and other tasks. We also adapt so easily to the conditions of our lives, and what was once exciting becomes normal and average. How can we turn those obligations into opportunities — for joy, connection, and fun?
Try This
Here are three science-backed strategies to make your life more fun.
· Imagine it was the last time you ever did this activity. How would you approach it? You’d probably be much more deliberate and pay more attention to it, savoring each step. Studies have found that being present actually ends up making tasks more enjoyable!
· Combine it with something you love to do. In the research, this is called ‘temptation bundling’ — like reserving your favorite television show to watch only while you’re at the gym. Combine something you love (dancing, singing, laughing, talking to someone) with something you don't (laundry, the drive to school, a workout.)
· Make it a challenge. Things get boring when the difficulty is gone. Challenges that you choose are, paradoxically, a great source of fun. They stimulate your brain, invite you to think more creatively, and tap into your innate gifts and problem-solving abilities. How many compliments can you give today? What new hobby can you try to master in the next 30 days? How can you walk at least 100 more steps today than you did yesterday?
More Tips and Tools
1. Get unstuck (Podcast)
2. Hope and fear (Instagram)
3. How expectations hurt our conversations (Instagram)
4. You can slow down (Instagram)
5. Stress vs. awe (Instagram)
Community
What do you do for the joy of it?
“Baking!! Even though I don’t bake the best, the internal joy that I feel brings me calm.”
“I buy myself bouquets and rearrange them at home. I take my time and snip each stem.”
“Dance in front of the mirror!”
“Reading, knitting, painting… it’s like my soul sighs every time I do one of these things.”
“Walks and bike rides!”
“Create something new, even when it’s just new to me.”
“Cooking!”
“Visit my grandmother.”
Read more
I hope these examples of joy inspire you and give you new ideas for opportunities in your own life.
(Want to be part of the discussion? Join us on Instagram or reply to this email)
Inspiration
1. Why do we return to our favorite TV shows and art? (WePresent) — "What we see in the past, real or imagined, is often revealing about what we’re missing in the present."
2. Depths of Wikipedia (Instagram) — How have I never seen this account before?!
3. The Lionesses fight to get girls playing (Guardian) — This week's New Happy Heroes are the Lionesses, who are fighting for girls' access to PE.
Thank you for reading
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