Knowing your own happiness

‘Know your own happiness’- Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility)

It is wrong to base how I feel on what I’ve achieved? For me, a good day can be defined when I look back and can see what I’ve done. I function better if I’m busy, if I have a sense of purpose. But it does mean that on a bad day, when motivation is lacking or there isn’t anything specific planned, I struggle. For the last few weeks, and for most of lockdown actually and the situation as it currently is, I’ve been busy at work and found things to do when I’m not, meaning for me, that my wellbeing is on a more positive level. But I do worry that by being like this, I’m inadvertently putting too much pressure on myself, to achieve something each day, or I’m a worse person for not doing so. Perhaps its just about finding what works for you and getting the balance right. We’re not all built the same, and find positives in very different places. So what works for me, may be the worst thing for someone else. But we at least need to know what things make us who we are, and stop us from falling. For me, as I’ve said its keeping busy and feeling that I’m doing a good job, in whatever I do. But I’ve also been learning to find joy in the small moments, a new book, a good sing or just noticing things that I may normally miss when I’m out and about. But then hanging on to those things tightly, to bring me back out the other side when the storm comes. Does it really matter what those moments are? I don’t think so, its about finding and knowing what your own happiness is, in what you have and what’s around you. Whatever brings a smile to your face, isn’t that the point? I think this has become all the more prevalent during the pandemic as we all adjust to a different way of being. There will be people who will flourish given the opportunity, and people who will really struggle. And for those of us somewhere in the middle, its worth remembering to share your own moments with others to help them along the way, finding that rainbow in each day.