Looking Ahead With Dread? Three Ways To Have a Happier New Year

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n’t like mine, try <a href="https://medium.com/@orrinonken">Orrin Onken</a>’s, <a href="https://medium.com/@headwriter">Loren Lieberthal</a>’s, <a href="https://medium.com/@rosalindwarren">Roz Warren</a>’s, <a href="https://medium.com/@bevpotter">Bev Potter</a>’s or <a href="https://bdb4224.medium.com">Brian Dickens Barrabee</a>’s. There’s somebody out there whose sense of humor will resonate with yours. Laughter is the best medicine. Never skip your daily dose.<h2 id="8e58">#2 — Are you a beaver? Because, damn, you’re good!</h2>Okay, that’s a goofy compliment. But compliments are a great antidote to the soundtrack of complaints we play in our heads every day. This year, try to offset every inward grumble you allow yourself with an outgoing compliment.Is the cashier wearing a pretty ring? Tell her. It may be the nicest thing she’s heard all day. There’s almost always an honest observation you can make to help someone feel seen and valued. Becoming a “conscious compliment-er” can actually help us <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/why-compliments-make-us-feel-so-good-how-get-better-ncna1062546">notice what’s good, and gain a happier outlook</a> ourselves, says psychotherapist Marcia Naomi Berger. Well, damn, what’s not to like?<h2 id="11e3">#3 — Smile with your eyes</h2>Since we’re still stuck behind masks at the start of this new year, it might seem like the

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re’s little point in smiling. Wrong!A smile that reaches your eyes, and makes their corners crinkle up with crow’s feet, can actually change how you feel. It’s called a “<a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/duchenne-smile#learned-skill">Duchenne smile</a>,” after 19th century scientist Guillaume Duchenne, who conducted experiments on the severed heads of executed criminals to map the muscles in facial expression!<a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/duchenne-smile#learned-skill">Research</a> has since shown that when the zygomaticus major muscle lifts the corners of your mouth at the same time as the orbicularis oculi muscles lifts your cheeks and crinkles the corners of your eyes, you can physiologically lift your own mood!You don’t even have to feel like smiling. Fake it till you make it. As the famous Zen master once said:<blockquote id="25ef">“Your joy can be the source of your smile, but sometimes, your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Thich Nhat Hanh</blockquote>P.S. It’s not like I’m some happiness guru. Like many humorists, I actually tend toward depression. I work at lifting my own mood. These strategies have helped me. I hope they’ll help you be happier in 2022!Want to read more stories like this one, or even get paid to write your own? Give Medium a try by clicking <a href="https://judymillar.medium.com/membership">here</a>.</article></body>

Your guide to getting happy in a hurry

Looking ahead to 2022 with some trepidation? Understandable, given the sh*t shows that were 2020 and 2021. As we age, the words of Anton Chekhov, Russia’s master storyteller, can rumble ominously in our subconscious:

We must not forget that the newer the year, the closer to death, the more extensive the bald spot, the more sinuous the wrinkles. — Anton Chekhov

To be happier in 2022, follow these three steps immediately. And repeatedly!

#1 — Stop reading sad-sacks like Chekhov

Guys like Chekhov made their living — or tried to — by pointing out the unhappy nature of human existence. Do you need more doom and gloom? You do not! If you must watch your nightly newscast, offset the negativity by devoting an equal number of minutes to reading — or listening to — humor.

If you don’t like mine, try Orrin Onken’s, Loren Lieberthal’s, Roz Warren’s, Bev Potter’s or Brian Dickens Barrabee’s. There’s somebody out there whose sense of humor will resonate with yours. Laughter is the best medicine. Never skip your daily dose.

#2 — Are you a beaver? Because, damn, you’re good!

Okay, that’s a goofy compliment. But compliments are a great antidote to the soundtrack of complaints we play in our heads every day. This year, try to offset every inward grumble you allow yourself with an outgoing compliment.

Is the cashier wearing a pretty ring? Tell her. It may be the nicest thing she’s heard all day. There’s almost always an honest observation you can make to help someone feel seen and valued. Becoming a “conscious compliment-er” can actually help us notice what’s good, and gain a happier outlook ourselves, says psychotherapist Marcia Naomi Berger. Well, damn, what’s not to like?

#3 — Smile with your eyes

Since we’re still stuck behind masks at the start of this new year, it might seem like there’s little point in smiling. Wrong!

A smile that reaches your eyes, and makes their corners crinkle up with crow’s feet, can actually change how you feel. It’s called a “Duchenne smile,” after 19th century scientist Guillaume Duchenne, who conducted experiments on the severed heads of executed criminals to map the muscles in facial expression!

Research has since shown that when the zygomaticus major muscle lifts the corners of your mouth at the same time as the orbicularis oculi muscles lifts your cheeks and crinkles the corners of your eyes, you can physiologically lift your own mood!

You don’t even have to feel like smiling. Fake it till you make it. As the famous Zen master once said:

“Your joy can be the source of your smile, but sometimes, your smile can be the source of your joy.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

P.S. It’s not like I’m some happiness guru. Like many humorists, I actually tend toward depression. I work at lifting my own mood. These strategies have helped me. I hope they’ll help you be happier in 2022!

Want to read more stories like this one, or even get paid to write your own? Give Medium a try by clicking here.