People are too focused on the big picture to stop and smell the roses. While it’s only human to strive for a bigger wage packet or a promotion, sometimes the smaller details can be glossed over – and have the potential to leave us lacking in here-and-now happiness as a result.

Professional counselor Joyce Marter wrote that “life is more manageable when you are grounded in the present”. The little things are what make up our everyday lives and it is these which can lead you to feeling happier.

To get some positive feeling out of considering the little things, you don’t need to drastically change your life and working towards the ‘bigger picture’ will still be needed, although you should take the time to acknowledge the little moments each day.

It’s easy to sit on the problems that seem to encompass our thoughts; a missed alarm, a late train or being splashed by a car driving through a puddle, but taking pleasure in the more positive elements of the day can help you cope with the bigger problems.

Healthy is happy

A growing body of work by doctors and mental health experts  suggests that a positive mental attitude is not only good for your day to day happiness, but can be linked to many other benefits in your life such as higher earnings, greater social relationships and to an even better state of physical health.

Self-growth has become an integral part of your personal development within society, and with modern culture focusing heavily on individualism, the importance of projecting a strong and happy personal image cannot be understated – be it in your normal social interactions or within the home or at work. Just remember, forget the negatives and focus on the positives. By picking small positives from each day they can contribute to your overall happiness.

Personal relationships

Strengthening important relationships is something that we all need to focus on, but you don’t need to make grand gestures to do this. Something as small as giving a friend a text message to let them know you’re thinking of them can have a very positive effect on both of you.

Small things that make you feel good occur every single day, but they often get overlooked as we weigh ourselves down fretting over something else. Finding happiness in the smaller things is easy to do, it can be as simple as having lunch with a good friend or planning a trip to the cinema. By giving yourself small events to look forward to, your day-to-day living becomes much more joyful with happy occasions to look forward to.

When you focus on the smaller things in life such as shopping in your favourite shop during a sale, the negative aspects of your life can be dispelled. Just holding door open for a stranger can make a difference to their bad day, so try to keep the negative things from interfering with your happiness by doing more positives.

Feeling good on the inside

All of these positives greatly aid your mental state, but remember it’s also important to do things that make you feel good and healthy such as getting a health check-up, reducing your salt intake, drinking less alcohol and taking a holiday. Even going for a run on a nice morning will leave you feeling refreshed and set you up for your day. Another great aspect of exercise is that it gives you time to think. Periods of reflection throughout your day allow you to organize your thoughts, giving you time to reflect on the negative thoughts you have built up and work out ways to turn those negatives into positives.

Whatever makes you feel good, go out and do it on a daily basis and the larger problems in life will become easier to deal with. The big things in life don’t happen very often, so don’t wait to be blown away and try to take pleasure in one thing each day to live a happier life.