What makes me Happy? Day 1: 31 Day blog challenge

This is day one of my 31 day blog challenge. If you don't know what I am doing, click here. I have chosen to do #16 on my list.

Things that Make Me Happy

Happiness is weird. I like happiness. I am not an optimist in any way shape or form and I think that happiness and optimism are separate of each other. Optimism has shown to allow more happiness to come but correlation does not prove causation (am I right psych majors?). Anyways. Happiness is... an experience that is enjoyed. As odd as that definition is I think it is correct. Happiness isn't just a feeling and is certainly not an emotion. It is an experience that is enjoyed. 

Happiness doesn't just brew from positives. Sociopaths might find happiness from things most people find twisted. So happiness can't be associated with whole positives. The positives that happiness can be associated with are the positives that one has from within. So happiness is experience exclusively to the individual. Happiness can be shared between people but it is still experienced differently. Some psychologists might argue that the facial expressions of happiness is one of the most universal. But I also know that the facial expression of happiness is the same across many different emotions like joy, love, success, etc. 

Anyways. Some of the things that make me happy on this list are 

- Being surprised by my fiancé, a call, a gift, a text, a picture, a note, anything except when he hides behind a door and scares me 

- When I find success, through a DIY project, a grade on an essay, cooking a recipe that turns out perfectly

- When I am content. When I am sitting doing nothing, maybe watching something, I can be at my most happiest. I am probably at one of the happiest I can be when I an content, which is not the same for all people

- When I am doing things with friends, sometimes. I don't always like social interaction but doing things with friends can definitely cheer me up

- When my rabbit comes up to me and cuddles with me without me trying to force her

- WHEN NEW EPISODES OF MAD MEN COME OUT LIKE OMG

- When I do my makeup and it turns out well

- Having all of the windows open in the apartment when the weather is beautiful

- Finishing a book

- Going for walks

- Doing things for my fiancé like packing his lunch, doing his laundry, helping him out when he needs me. I can't explain why but it makes me happy to help

- When I am working with one of my favourite coworkers

- That feeling when I leave the gym after a good workout

- Good conversation makes me happy, like a good intellectual conversation in one of my philosophy classes

- Date night with my fiancé/spending time with him

- Finding a new piece of clothing that I really like (I know, such a girl)

- Eating something delicious

- Burning candles

- Listening to ASMR 

- Looking at nature 

I can't really think of many more right now. I'm sure this list could be 1000 things long, but I think I covered the basics. A lot of the things I wrote about are things I enjoy doing that make me content. Which is why I think I am just really happy when I am content. If I am slightly stimulated by activity I can still be happy but if there is too much going on I become unhappy.

I hate articles that are like "Here is how to be happy" because even though those things work for most people, the more simple way to figure out how to be happier is to make your own list. 

Anyways, come back again tomorrow. Hopefully I remember to write again! I'm sure I'll forget one of these days. 

1. A Short Story
2. Things I love and hate about running
3. A Picture I've drawn/created
4. Talk about something on this wikipedia list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_philosophy
5. 20 Things to do before I turn 20
6. What I like and dislike about my City
7. An Obit to my Father 
8. Should there be limits to freedom of expression?
9. How I feel about Hedonism
10. Writing Advice
11. Letters to my future self
12. A Picture of my life every hour (Set a timer on my phone and take a picture every hour of what I am doing, on the hour from wake until sleep)
13. The Advantages and Disadvantages of being a philosophy major
14. Something funny
15. Describe something (My day? My job? I'll decide later) in 5, 50 and 500 words (We'll see how this works out)
16. Things that make me happy
17. Why monogamy and marriage are dead and I am still getting married
18. Why sex is natural
19. Thoughts on Minimalism
20. A response to something ridiculous, whether an article or event, something
21. Map Test: I will try to label 3 maps Canada (where I live), the US (where most of my readers are from) and a world Map. All in order to embarrass myself. 
22. My 5 favourites: TV shows, books, celebrities, comedians, music, food, movies, stores, makeup, clothing styles, drinks
23. A recipe
24. Why I love Nick (a list)
25. My Life (so my followers who don't know me in RL can get a feel of what I do outside of my blog)
26. A thought experiment (What if...?)
27. Why I haven't been caring for the environment AKA Why I am selfish
28. ?
29. ?
30. ?
31. What I learned from this blog challenge