The littlest things can make you happy. For example, a long drive with your husband or a warm coffee can brighten your day. To be happy, you have to live in the moment.

Happiness is contagious and in order to catch it we must be around others who are in high spirits. One of my favourite quotes is from success coach, Jack Canfield. “If you hang out with turkeys, you will never fly like an eagle.” I believe this with all my heart. While I am sure Canfield’s intent was for people to surround themselves with successful people and gain success of their own, I believe it can also be applied to happiness. To achieve happiness, you need to be among content people.

Most people will have an abundance of relationships in their lives. Your family, neighbours, co-workers, school friends, groups you belong to and even the strangers you meet every day influence your level of happiness. In fact, researchers at Harvard and the University of California have mapped relationships of happy people and found that happiness is “a collective phenomenon that spreads like a virus through social networks.” (2008)

Bottom line – you get to “choose happy.” The chances of increasing your happiness depend on who you opt to spend time with. So the big question you need to ask yourself is: “Am I choosing happy in this moment and who do I need to be with to catch the happy virus”?

Chandra Leavitt BN CPCC

Life, Teen and Family Coach

www.coachchandra.com