To celebrate the launch of Nina Ricci’s fabulous fragrance, reimagined as ‘Luna Monsters’ (transformed by Ninna Ricci and Brazilian duo Ana Strumpf and Guto Requena) I wanted to talk about life’s surprise pleasurable moments – much like the one I experienced discovering the new bottle. More specifically, how to find those little moments of unexpected joy that can make us happier, make us smile and enable us to be better people!
Success Is Growing As A Human
If someone asked me to ‘define happiness in one word’ my answer would be ‘growth’. When we’re children it’s the law to attend school. We grow, we learn, we develop. Some of my favourite childhood memories are school related and it’s just as important to work these in to your adult life, to find and appreciate joy like you did when you were 5.
Growing is a powerful verb. Continuing to grow our bodies and minds is so important because we continue to constantly push ourselves to the next level. As humans, it’s in our DNA to always want to improve on our personal best. It’s within all of us it’s just that sometimes we get so preoccupied by everything that’s going on that we end up neglecting this fundamental urge.
For some people it means digging deep and trying to find that motivation once again to want to improve and grow. When was the last time you went for a long walk and then tried to walk even further on the second time? When was the last time you forgave someone and felt like you were growing in to a more mature adult?
Continuing To Learn As An Adult
What have you learned in the past two weeks? If it’s taking you more than 2 minutes to think about it, don’t worry, you’re not alone. So many people these days consider ‘learning’ to be a thing you did as a child. In fact, many people decide that once they’ve finished studying, they’ll enter into a working role and then, well, that’s it. How wrong this is.
If you find yourself bored, ask yourself, what could you be doing to learn? Finding a new project helps to keep our brain ticking over and is a significant step in the quest to finding joy in life.
Try reading a new book from start to finish on a topic that interests you. Is it computer skills? Is it a book on travel? Feeding your mind allows you to grow and develop – just like you did as a child. It also reduces our stress hormones which put us in bad moods and instead allows us to feel a sense of achievement, enhances our curiosity which then improves our intelligence. When I learned how to write, speak and read Hebrew, my reaction was similar to how many 8 month old baby behaves when she’s moved 3 inches forward. Elation.
Enabling Your Creativity On Social Media
As you mindlessly flick through social media, perhaps not even paying attention most of the time, take a moment to be mindful of what you’re doing. Sure we’re allowed to have our moments where we decompress from the day’s work and just simply wind down by catching up on funny gifs, videos and reading about fashion and beauty on your favourite blog (SITC?) but if it’s more constant than that, you are not doing yourself any favours.
If you’re comparing yourself to others, it’s a no brainer, it’s detrimental to your health. If you’re just having a look out of curiosity, think hard and consider whether you’re subconsciously comparing without even realising. So to find the joy in social media, curate the people you follow into categories. For instance, ‘great cooking inspiration’, ‘excellent illustrators’, and ‘travel ideas’. You’re enabling your creativity to flow and getting lots of great inspiration in the process. If you’re following someone because they’re hot, ask yourself why? Sometimes we’re a glutton for our own punishment.
There’s no denying that happiness is good for our health. It aids a longer life span and is the basis on which the quality of our life is measured (health aside). It was a lovely surprise finding that one of my favourite fragrances had gone through a fun little makeover. What has given you a small moment of joy recently?
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Nina Ricci Luna Monsters – FeelUnique
