For many individuals, self-esteem is always a work in progress. With that said, keeping a happiness jar may help to improve self-esteem and overall confidence. “Having an ongoing gratitude practice can also help you build a stronger relationship with yourself,” says Vasan. “It reduces social comparison, the act of comparing yourself or your life to others, and helps you focus on the elements of your life you’re grateful for and proud of.” Gratitude can improve your relationships with people. By setting time aside in your day to think about the people you are grateful for, you are more likely to show that gratitude towards those people. You may do this by telling them how grateful you are for everything they do for you, or it can be done in other ways, such as making them a cup of tea when they’re busy. In this blog, we’ll help you make a happiness jar for yourself, or for someone else, and we’ll give you some great resources to help boost yours and other people’s happiness. What is a Happiness Jar? Let me know in the comments what you think of this DIY Happy Jar and if you gave it to someone as a gift. If you want to get really fancy, you can roll up each of your handwritten notes and tie them with a cute ribbon, or piece of twine.

Also known as a Happy or Happiness Jar, a positivity jar is almost exactly what it sounds like- a jar full of positive thoughts and notes! Recording the happy moments in your life is more important than creating the jar so if you can’t be bothered to store them in a jar then use the printable jars below and write them on the jars or just record them in a note on your phone. How to Make a Happiness Jar Equipment: It’s easy to fixate on the “bad” moments of everyday life, whether you got a flat tire on the way to work or burned your leftovers for dinner. If that sounds familiar, then you might want to consider adding a gratitude practice to your daily routine. One way to do this is by creating a happiness jar. As I go throughout my day, I use my phone to keep notes about moments that were particularly meaningful to me: something funny one of the kids said, a sauna conversation with my husband,receiving a message from a mama who found my post on tongue ties and finally figured out the root of her nursing issues, etc. Create a baby happiness jar for each of your children and note down their magic moments and milestones.Gratitude helps you develop a positive attitude and mindset. By focusing on the positive aspects of your day, you can get rid of some of those negative thoughts that are buried in your head. The more you add things to your happiness jar, the more likely you are to appreciate the small things in life and develop a positive attitude, even on the hard days. Paper for writing down your memories. I used scrapbooking paper – onesheet will make sixteen 3 in. x 3 in. squares.

A weeding tool (I use the Cricut Basic Tool Set that has the weeding tool, scraper tool, scissors and more)

Curriculum

Write about compliments you received or things people said to you that touched you or motivated you. Nina Vasan, MD, chief medical officer at Real, says that a physical happiness jar isn’t even necessary for some people. “For some, writing a note on their phone or writing in a journal is preferred. However, it is less about the format their gratitude practice takes and much more about the act of the practice.” Find somewhere to keep your jar, paper and pens. It’s up to you how private or public it should be, but you’ll need to be able to reach it every day. For me, the decision to create a Happiness Jar came when I was standing at a parade wishing I’d washed my hair. You see, the year before I’d stood at the same parade, held the very same baby boy, and wished the same thing about my hair.

As humans, we are wired for connections with other people, and practicing gratitude can help with that. “Gratitude is an important component of forming new relationships, which means a gratitude practice can open you up to new friendships and relationships,” says Vasan. “It is also critical to strengthening important existing relationships and can contribute to higher levels of satisfaction within the relationship and improved happiness.” With the transfer tape in place, use a scraper tool or other hard and flat-edged item (like a store loyalty card) to transfer the vinyl decal design to the transfer tape. It’s important to scrape it well to transfer the vinyl decal. Step 5: Prepare Your Jar for the Vinyl Decal

Surround Yourself With People Who Inspire You

Those who mentor and care for the next generation are happier and more well-adjusted than those who don’t. He and his siblings have brought more laughter and joy thanI could have imagined before becoming a parent. (And also a fair amount of frustration, but we’re focusing on the good stuff for now.) It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.”