Greetings my sweet friends, 

Those of you who read my last post know that lately I’ve been struggling emotionally for the past two weeks. This past weekend I got breakfast with one of my old friends, and it’s always so nice seeing her. We met through work, but the first time we got lunch outside of work, we sat and talked for 5 hours and we didn’t realize where the time had gone. Since then, we’ve been having semi-regular breakfast dates at First Watch (I’m so obsessed with their coffee). She’s really easy to open up to and be vulnerable with, so I had no problem telling her that I’m really trying to prioritize my happiness in 2024. That includes being careful who I give my energy to and who I spend my energy on. While some people are extremely draining and leave you feeling exhausted or like you had all the happiness sucked out of your soul from a dementor, she is a ray of sunshine and fills you up with a warmth and vibrant energy that radiates. 

As many of you know, I’m big on monthly goals, instead of yearly goals. So my January goals now include: 1) intentionally spending time with people who make me feel happy and recharged after I see them, and 2) prioritizing my happiness and doing what’ll make me happy to become my favorite self. While my favorite self looks different depending on how life is going, one thing that I do always find keeps me happy is gratitude and meditating. 

As the new year starts, so does a new meditation challenge, courtesy of 10% Happier. Three years ago, I started meditating because my friend Justin told me about the 10% Happier app. I love this app because most of their meditations are set up first, with a short video, and then a meditation afterward. In 2021, as someone who was just beginning her meditation journey, I needed something to ease into, which is how I found the “2021 New Year’s Challenge.”

Now here we are, three years later, and the two-week challenge for this year is the “Imperfect Meditation Challenge” and there’s a big push on Joy. Those of you who have read my previous posts know that I’m a big fan of the ordinary and mundane moments, because those are the ones the magic is in. This meditation was something similar:

“Why should we care about micro moments of joy?” 
“The world is a hard place. Being able to tune into joy actually increases our capacity to be with what is hard. Once we start opening up to these mundane moments as these possibilities for pleasantness and joy, that’s what’s going to motivate us to stay on this path.”

I have always been a proponent of the mundane moments, because those are the ones we miss and celebrate. I will never stop celebrating my half birthday, and I will never stop being excited about things that seem “little” to other people but actually mean the world to me.

Yesterday’s 10% happier meditation had video clips from various users who shared moments where they feel joy. After that, there was a moment where we were asked to think of the little things that fill us with joy.

Here are a few of mine:

• Last week, my brother had that Sibling-Spidey Sense and somehow knew I was having a tough day, and he surprised me with a dozen Biscoff doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. It was so unexpected and absolutely made my night;
• The Barnes and Noble near my apartment (I moved out!!) is having a 50% off sale for all pumpkin drinks so even though we’re well into January, I’ve been having pumpkin chais the last week and who says that pumpkin has to be a Fall thing only?? On that same vein, the Trader Joe’s near me still has Maple Oat Milk which is a thrill;
• The Lizzie Mcguire Show theme song always makes me really happy;
• My roommate is traveling these next two weeks so I’ve been staying at home with my family and it really makes me happy being able to hug them at the end of each day and yell “GOODNIGHT” down the stairs (even though all of us know I’m going to be up for at least another 4 hours);
• When someone messages you right when you were thinking about them;
• Lately I’ve been having Nutella waffles for breakfast. That’s it. They’re amazing;
• When you think you’re about to miss your train but then you realize it was somehow waiting for you, and you run on and it leaves only once you’re seated and settled in;
• When you lock eyes with a little baby or a small child and they are mesmerized and smile and wave at you – the pure innocence!!;
• When someone remembers something you told them a long time ago in passing;
• When you think back to your childhood and sometimes you feel “wow I wish I could give past me a hug” but you also know that past you would be really proud of current you and you know you’re doing it for her – for those childhood dreams, for those adventures you never thought you’d go on, for the “glamorous life” that you had once daydreamed about;
• When someone else is really proud of you and brags about your accomplishments or speaks well of you to influential people;
• When you have to sit down and make a list of little things that make you happy and it’s so easy because it just keeps going and you have to stop yourself from taking up the entire page;

What’s wild is that happiness and joy is all around us. It’s so easy to feel like everything is hard, fake, awful, and the world is filled with horrible people, but as someone who sometimes struggles with her relationship with happiness (i.e. Me questioning whether I should share exciting things that happen to me or if talking about them will make the good thing go away? Me questioning whether I really deserved the really great thing that happened to me? Me always trying to find reasons and ways to be better and even when I’m giving myself grace, knowing that there is a better version of me out there…), it can be tough to remember these. I always feel better when I keep a gratitude journal, because as the meditation says, celebrating the small moments, broadens our capacity to deal with the tougher moments.

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So to round out this post and in an effort to celebrate joy, I asked my family and a few of my friends to tell me the small things that spark joy for them. Getting their answers was a joy that I can’t even put into words because it was the most wholesome part of my day. Even if there were joys I couldn’t necessarily relate to, picturing them having this joy or just hearing them describe it was such a raw, intimate, and emotional moment that I was really lucky and blessed that so many people were so willingly vulnerable with me and didn’t even bat an eye when I said “will you be willing to share a few things that make you happy?” Sometimes the world is lonely, but sometimes the world is beautiful, wholesome, kind, warm, and incredible. 

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So here is a list of all the sweet joys that my friends shared with me. One person said: “All this stuff makes a bad day good” and I loved that so much, because not only are these little things that bring us happiness, but they also actually have the power to turn our entire day around. 

While I loved all of them, I bolded some of my favorite ones 🙂 

• Complimenting others and seeing them light up
• Harry Potter world
• Listening to music 
• When my preferred parking spot is open
• When there is no traffic on I-270 when I go to work🛣️
• Hot showers
• Comfort tv shows: as odd as it sounds criminal minds, detective shows
• Warm coffee brings me lots of joy and works as the spark to get my day going
• Moments where I can stop & realize how much I’ve learned and grown
• Going to a restaurant or the grocery store and getting a new food I haven’t tried before
• My dog: I love her. She’s my baby. Has a lot of personality and is up for anything
• Snow. So pretty and I like the feeling of slowly stepping in it and it’s pretty when it coats the trees
• Parallel parking on the first try
• Weekly Barnes and nobles hangout with my friends. Cozy vibes
• 0 emails in inbox: no work and I’m free 
• Accomplishing a task (finishing an objective in a game, creating vision board, clearing my inbox)
• Home Goods: every time I go, there’s something different and it’s always unique including furniture, snacks, and pretty calendars
• Someone you haven’t talked to in a while messaging you
• Mugs I’ve painted from amazing art studio
• Driving my 12-year-old Honda Accord 
• When I see my family all happy and together❤️
• Organized room: clean room, clean mind
• Book club
• New beginnings & “living for the hope of it all”
• Finding a new favorite song
• Spending time together with my whole family
• Trying a good new restaurant 
• Dinner with cousins where we eat too much and laugh about the embarrassing stuff only family knows  
• Crafts & creating
• When coffee/tea is the perfect sipping temperature
• Stretching after being in one position for a while
• Watching football with my spouse and family – I don’t care about sports but I love seeing how well my spouse and brother get along 
• Seeing how excited my puppy is to meet anyone new and the happiness he brings to those people 
• Good food!!
• Laying on a beach
• Looking through old cards and notes that people have sent me over the years – Especially from people in my life who have passed on
• Crossing off a task on my to-do list
• When there are no weeds in my yard
• Petting a cat. Any cat. All cats!!!
• Trying a new recipe that actually turns out well and then later, getting compliments about said recipe from friends and family
• My wife going back to work at a job she loves makes me happy (This might be one of my favorites)
• Getting into very hardcore nerdy discussions/debates with people
• Driving
• When I try a new recipe and it turns out great 🥙
• Taking my dog on a long walk in a new place 
• A cozy night in with friends
• Praise like people telling me I’m doing a good job, I’m needed, or I matter (e.g.,  my manager telling me I’m needed for accomplishing a task, my mom telling me she’s happy to have me as a daughter, someone liking my art, that I picked a good book club book, or that my cooking skills are good) 
• The window seat on a train 
• Writing with fancy stationery stuff: fountain pens & wax seals & stickers & washi tape
• The white snow glazed over land – I get to stare out my window and feel like a Christmas card
• A great cup of coffee
• A Saturday morning with nothing to do 
• Deleting my 3:30am alarm after finishing my surgery clerkship (Even though I can’t relate to this one, I love this one)
• My partner following her dream of doing graphic design
• Feeling well rested after a nap
• A good book
• Working on my Raspberry Pi 
• Being told something reminded someone of me 
• Quality times with friends
• Unexpected compliments 
• When I travel to a new National Park🏞️
• Cloudy days 
• Having pretty nails
• Spicy margaritas after a long week
• When the sun comes out on a cloudy/rainy day🌤️
• Very specific Spotify playlists for different moods
• My to-do list at work – I felt disorganized and confused before I put it together. 
• The people in my life who keep me together. This includes my partner, my friends, and my family. Without others, I’m a buoy in the water. 
• Sitting in my study and doing work
• Seeing my friends and family succeed
• Cuddles with my dog 
• My boyfriend – no matter how angry I am or how stressed I am, he always knows how to make me laugh
• A sense of community, whether online or in person
• Seasonal beverages 
• Late night adventures 
• Weeds that look like flowers
• My husband
• Good sportsmanship 
• Good cafe drink and cute pastry place 
• Hanging out with friends, going to a dive bar or someone’s house and chatting
• Playing magic the gathering
• When a meeting gets canceled
• Hugging my partner
• Quality time spent with my partner and dog
• Lighting a fire
• Going for a run at the gym
• When you buy pants that are a good fit 
• When I see some strange growth on my houseplant, and turns out that it is a sign of the plant doing really well
• A fresh haircut
• Binging reality TV on a lazy Saturday with my spouse 
• Running into a friend out of the blue
• Gossiping with my parents and brother around the dinner table 
• Having the time and space to read a book (or a sizable chunk of one) in one sitting
• When my puppy comes to sit in my lap while playing 
• A thoughtful compliment paid for my hard work 
• A warm bowl of soup while it’s so wintery and cold out and after battling a cold. 
• Spending quality time or just talking with my grandma (ba), whether if we’re joking around or she’s telling me about her childhood, just talking to her or hugging her brings me joy 
• Crossing the bay bridge 
• Reading for 20-30 minutes before bed to escape to a different world
• Having one too many glasses of wine with my oldest friends
• Watching silly little Tik Toks and Instagram reels – They let me escape stress and let me giggle
• Watching sunrises/sunsets
• Helping someone solve a hard problem
• Drawing
• When I travel to a new destination😍
• Finding the last letter of a crossword
• Napping with the window open
• Baking and other people enjoying my baked goods – For this one, I have to reveal her identity because it’s my sweet friend Shivani, and I swear, if you ever need any sort of baked goods for an event, you should order from her. I think I actually won all the hearts of the people at my office because one time I brought a box of cookies for everyone and ordered a few special birthday boxes for a few select coworkers, and they all *fell in love* I HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Give her a follow and order something from her — I’ve had cookies, truffles, ice cream… trust me, you won’t regret it. If you really want to channel me, then I recommend ordering an assorted box of lemon cookies, peanut butter cookies, and almond joy cookies (and no this is not an affiliated post, I’m just genuinely obsessed with her cookies)

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I hope reading these filled you with as much happiness as it did for me. I want to especially thank my family for the little joys they contributed. You three are my everything and I love you very much! 

Lastly, I want to challenge all of you to keep a gratitude journal, or if you’re feeling brave and vulnerable like so many other people, comment your little joys below. Until next time!

xo

Sandhya

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