Last year I wrote down at least one positive thing that happened to me (almost) each day.  When I was able to go to the city with my cousins, I wrote it down.  When I had a really nice conversation with my dad, I wrote it down.  When I did all my homework for once, I wrote it down.  Nothing was too small or insignificant.  And after finding the jar a few weeks ago in which I stowed away my notes, I can say that this was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself.

I found the idea for “the happiness jar” on the Internet, luckily right at the start of the year.  It said simply to write the best moments of your day on little slips of paper and put them in a jar for each day of the year.  Meant for reading on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, it’s the perfect review of your year because the jar will be “overflowing with happiness.”

Once I found and went through my jar, it changed my entire outlook on 2013.  On the little slips of paper were no bad memories or complaints, but rather the very best moments of my year.  And because there was a slip of paper for almost every day, it reminded me that my year didn’t just have spurts of positivity, it was chock-full of happiness.

Thinking positively can change your whole life.  Martin Seligman, author of “Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life,” found through his research that those with an optimistic thinking pattern tend to give themselves credit when good things happen, but blame outside forces when bad things happen.  These optimistic people are also able to see bad events as temporary, as opposed to pessimists’ idea that bad things will last forever.

Imagine always being able to think on the bright side, see the glass as half-full, and know that the grass is always greener on your side.  You can truly teach yourself to see things differently.  It starts with accepting what you have and being able to appreciate your life the way it is.  Start a gratitude journal, or even make a happiness jar, so that you can start seeing the joy that is truly prominent every day in your life.