An uptick in happiness …

Sometimes we are happy, sometimes, we are less so.

Think about what those things are, that make you happy. Sometimes they are small things; things that can easily go unnoticed. 

Identify those small things that give us an ‘uptick’ in happiness; do them more often and attend to them them mindfully. 

We often ignore those small - unnoticed achievements that we make every day. I see this on the mat all the time. People tend to notice the big accomplishments, the grand victories; which happen with much less frequency than the myriad small improvements/victories we hit every day.

You might escape an armbar, stuff a sweep attempt, turn from being flat on your back to being on your side once your partner has passed your guard … small things, but victories nonetheless. 

An uptick in happiness or an uptick in our sense of achievement often starts with noticing the small victories. And large victories themselves of course, are most often the result of the successful stringing together of a series of smaller achievements.

• JBW