Throughout life, you will hear two major pieces of advice. One is to live your life to the fullest and achieve as many goals as you can while you’re still young. The other is to live and enjoy the little things. Both are very important (though the notion of “young” is very subjective), but here’s an interesting observation: while we all strive to find joy in life, enjoying little things may be much more difficult than some of us anticipate.
This is not to say that we are insensitive creatures, but as often as not, if you ask yourself the question “What are the things that make me happy?”, you will at the very least start with some major points. Things like eating ice cream in the sun or finding an old book at a garage sale are more likely to be at the bottom of that list. And while many impact quotes keep telling us how important the little things are, we seem to forget about them.
The truth is, everyone can enjoy the little things in life; you only need to stop and look around, and see what makes you smile when you don’t even notice. In this article, you will find other people talking about what makes them happy. We hope this will inspire you and be a step towards finding joy in life.
Upvote the things that instantly put a smile on your face, and share this article with your friends. Let us know in the comments what little things in life make you happy.
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“There’s a guy who lives near me who started running during lockdown. He was overweight, struggling, wheezing, and slow at the start, now 3 months later he’s tearing it up. Anytime I see him running it brightens up my day.”
"My cat comes to the door when I get home and greets me with headbutts and meows. And the outdoor kitty I feed does the same. People who say cats are heartless have never tried being around a cat."
I love it when she comes downstairs to greet me, stll half asleep but reporting for duty 🙃 I carry her back to sleep then and she doesn't mind 🤎
"The intern who sits in the next cubicle was messaging me about how bored he was. I messaged back "Stand up for a high five in 3.. 2.. 1..". We both stood up at the same moment, had a really loud high five for our quiet work area, and immediately Sat back down. Most successful moment of my whole day!"
"Girl next door has 2 cats. One time I left my door open and both went ahead exploring my large apartment.
Now every morning they go to my door and make a noise when they want to visit. They go in, look around and return to their apartment. It's kinda like a ritual right now.
And I really love it. One more reason to get up early. To allow someone else cats to check up on me."
“My kid experiencing her firsts and getting so overwhelmed by it. Yesterday she experienced a ladybug crawling on her hand for the first time and her genuine happiness was infectious. She kept going back to the same spot in the garden looking for it, calling out, ‘Heyo... bug’, looking for it under every leaf. Heh...”
"When you let someone in while driving and they wave at you."
matthewdrums comments: "I love this. In fact, I just love when people are driving nicely in general: not tailgating, not jumping around lanes, not speeding, merging correctly, etc. It feels nice like they are not just respecting the rules of the road but also being courteous as if to say, "Yeah, traffic/commuting/driving isn't just about me, we're all in this together let's try to do it well."
“Rediscovering the songs I used to listen to and either relive the memories or replace them.”
"When my cats sleep next to me, they always make sure that they touch me with their toe beans. If I slightly move, they readjust until they touch me again. Love it."
sadeland21 replied: "My girl cat does this once it starts getting cold out. She uses me as her personal hot water bottle, and I LOVE it!"
My cat's smack me in the face at exactly 6.30am every effing day. Don't need an alarm clock. I wouldn't have it any other way. If i don't wake up they MEOUW like there is a tsunami or an asteroid coming. So i go feed them, go back to bed and the little feckers are sleeping in my bed. Like HOW TF.!!
"The way my dog wags his tail literally every time I look at him."
We've got a stray dog on work that was really afraid of everyone at first. I started feeding her and over time she got comfortable enough that I can pet her. Now every time my car pulls up to the office she runs out waging and barking. Its really nice.
“Rainbows.
I’m a 43-year-old man and will still excitedly run across the house to take a look when my wife or kid shouts ‘There’s a rainbow!’”
"Every day there's this neighborhood kid that bikes around with his what I assume to be his older friend or brother and they throw homemade newspapers. They write little notes and cards and update how they like life. He does it just for this block I'm on with my friend. Apparently, he's been doing it for about 6 months."
"A joke I've never heard before. A creative compliment I've never heard of before. Just... something different. Makes the day more interesting. The tiniest difference makes a big difference."
bourbon_legends replied: "I have bright pink hair, and one day at work I was wearing it in a high curly ponytail. A man came up to me and said "I love your hair. I hope this doesn't come off as weird, but you look like Pinkie Pie, and I love it. My daughter and I watch My Little Pony together and that's her favorite pony, she'd love your hair too." That compliment has stuck with me because that was the last kind of person I'd expect to get that compliment from. It was very sweet and I think about it pretty often."
"Friend bought me lunch since he knew I'm falling on hard times but didn't bring up the fact. I know he did it for that reason though. Thanks, dude."
"I work out in the field all day, so seeing wildlife really does it for me. Especially foxes, as they so rarely venture in the open - but I was on a site once where we would spot one casually walking past us almost daily. Best times of my life. On a normal day, I settle for seeing red kites.
In the winter, the sun popping out to say hello after weeks of gloomy grey weather also really gets me going."
"The cat that usually doesn't want to be pet, allowed me to pet her for quite a while."
"Hummingbirds peeking through my window after they use my feeder. Feels like they’re saying, 'Top of the morning to you."
They used to do that to my mom when the feeder was out, like come on woman. We're hungry lol
“Seeing tiny 4-day-old goats in the backyard jump around and play with each other. And when they finished after 10 minutes they instantly fall asleep.”
"My morning commute is 8 minutes walk by a small canal and there are a bunch of ducks and one goose that thinks he’s a duck. I named him Boris, saying 'good morning to Boris' every day makes my day a bit better."
I stop by the giraffes in London Zoo whenever I'm passing through Regent's Park — the enclosure is right next to the outer ring road and can be seen through a gap in the trees.
"My dog loves laying on my feet. Just mine, not my parents or siblings. My heart sings whenever he does it 'cause it's clearly a sign of affection he reserves for me."
"I can’t see my dad a lot anymore, but he makes sure to send me an updated picture of his garden almost every day."
Cosaur: "You could make a time-lapse of that, with the pictures you've been sent."
“I made friends with a crow recently, and after handing it food for a while I assume it now comes with its partner because now there are 2 crows waiting every day.”
I started feeding the mourning doves at my job, inside a home improvement store. They don’t fly away anymore when I walk by. They trust me💕 priceless
"When I accidentally wake up too early and see the sun starting to come out. I go back to sleep after but I like to think I fall back asleep with a slight smile on my face."
BezoutsDilemma replied: "Or waking up, but staying on the edge of sleep, while it's raining outside. Then getting to lie in bed and doze off again while listening to the pitter-patter of the rain."
Aardbeienshake comments: "I am not a native English speaker and this is the first time I came across 'pitter-patter of the rain' and that is genuinely an awesome phrase! I can almost hear the rain in my head now."
"Every night when I have to work the next morning my boyfriend prepares everything for me to make coffee and writes some sort of cute note or makes some sort of cute thing out of whatever he finds lying about after I've gone to bed.
I have to get up super early for work and he works crazy shifts so I almost never see him in the morning but it's such a sweet thing to wake up to. I never expect him to do it and have also never asked for it but it's such a simple sweet thing that makes me smile."
My late husband used to sort my Tums antacids. He knew I didn't like some of the flavors. I miss that still after 17 years.
"I talked about this fairly recently, but 5 years ago I lost my dog, Snoopy. He was my best friend for almost 17 years, so it was a very painful loss for me.
One night shortly after he died I got drunk and decided I wanted a tattoo of a caricature of him to remember him by. I asked my room/best (human) friend to draw it on my right forearm since I am right-handed and it was hard for me to do. Well, it was even harder to try and tattoo myself with my non-dominant hand and the result was a very sloppy tattoo. Even though it looks bad, it's my most cherished tattoo because it's such a raw expression of emotion.
Whenever I'm feeling bad or just miss him, I look down at that little goofy face on my arm and remember all the happiness that he brought me and all the great memories we made together. It never fails to put a smile on my face."
"I learned this from visiting a buddy. Learn the names of the people who you routinely visit, IE gas station employees or grocery store clerks, whatever. Learn a little about them, ask them about their day, and call them by name. It just feels good to make people feel appreciated I guess."
User No 2 replied: "I can vouch for this. I work at Starbucks, and I remembered this one customer's name once that came in 2-3 times over the span of 2 months. I later learned that she was an immigrant and everyone has such a hard time learning her name, that when I said “your name is... right?” she was so touched. And I was touched because I didn’t realize the effect that learning someone’s name had on people's lives."
My name is ridiculous and impossible to pronounce (Irish--thanks mum!), but the guys who work at the local dispensary not only remember my name, they have been pronouncing it correctly from the get go. They probably have no idea just how much I appreciate this.
“Remembering how brightly a homeless man smiled at me, and hearing him say ‘God bless you miss’ after I gave him 4 tacos on my birthday.”
"The way my daughter smiles when she sees me. She’s a little over two months old and has recently started to smile back at me, it’s the best feeling in the world."
Ooh, just wait until she's about 3. She'll throw the most epic tantrum, then cuddle up next to you and say "I love you, Mommy/Daddy!" and you'll just absolutely melt 🥰🥰
"Being told I'm appreciated. People just don't seem to tell the people in their lives that they are appreciated. It's sad."
I always make a point of complimenting the service person on the totem pole. I worked in food service for 16 years. Not once did I or any employee ever get a compliment, but boy, did we get complaints. Now, regardless of whether it's my server or my rep at the utility company or the cashier at the gas station, if I get great service, I try to compliment the employee directly and their immediate supervisor (if possible).
"It’s really random, but the bumble bee that frequents my basil plant always makes me smile. Who the hell knows if it’s actually the same bee that I see several times per week, but whatever. I’ve named him Joey Jo-Jo Junior Shabadoo (JoJo for short)."
Bees are very intelligent, they can "recognise" human faces as they appear to see us as some sort of rather large and strange flower. (US, recognize, before anyone starts shouting at me, lol)
“The cold breeze of air when entering an air-conditioned store on a hot day.”
"When you can tell someone is genuinely happy to see you, or genuinely sad to see you go."
THISSS it makes me go whoa! I'm real! And I'm making a positive change in this other person's life! Incredible!!
"In my neighborhood every day when I come back from the gym at 6:01 a.m there are a trail of quails and every morning I stop so they can safely pass the road. If they aren’t there I get kind of sad. I like seeing my quails and knowing they got to their destination safely.
I work out in an open park at the moment which is the same distance from my house as the gym, my quail routine has not stopped because of covid."
"My husband makes it a habit to send at least one cute animal picture to me a day. It's been years and I don't think he's ever doubled up. If I've seen it before from some other source I get another two or three to make up for seeing one already. It's often frog related. Today was three White's tree frogs being cute in a frog bowl. Yesterday was a bearded dragon getting excited over blueberries."
This is the kind of thing I can see myself doing in a relationship and I adore it lol
"My grandpa suffered from severe Alzheimer's disease, he had many bad days but was generally a happy man. He was fortunate enough that he found so much wonder in the world for a second time around in his old age, he would be surprised and shocked with every sneeze and would laugh at how ridiculous it was afterward."
Mine only remembered that he thought his beautiful curly hair was too girly, and he would routinely steal the clippers at the care facility and shave his head. When they locked them up, he started escaping and going in to the barbershop he'd been going to since he was a kid.
“The smile of others. Especially if I caused it.”
"I teach pottery to adult students at a community studio. I always love when they ask me if I'm teaching again next month, or try to figure out which classes I teach so they can take my class again."
"My girlfriend packs me lunch most days, she does this quite often without me noticing, just tucks it away in my work bag. Before her, I used to always just buy lunch out. Even when it's something simple like a ham and cheese sandwich and some crisps it's just so lovely having someone do something without mentioning or asking for anything in return."
"When you go to open a jar and don’t need help."
*pulling out a screwdriver and a hammer*. Don't. Tell. Me. That. I. Can't. Do. It.
“Sunlight coming through my window in the morning.”
"When someone tells you that you’re funny. I don't know why but that just makes me feel so happy."
Or when you make a comment and your colleagues all start laughing. Feels good.
"When I can get up on a Saturday or Sunday after a long week of work, and make my Fiance breakfast and a cup of coffee.
Lately, I've been going out of my way to make it as special as possible. Pancakes, gourmet coffee, fruit salads.
I can't do this on a weekday as I leave for work so early. But it really makes my day when I can do it on the weekends."
I'm a SAH so I cook dinner every night and make my hubs lunches for his week. Every weekend he's off he makes us an amazing breakfast and always does the dishes. I've never asked for it, it's just something he does to show me I am appreciated. I love it!
"My dog tip-toeing after me."
Artaxxx replied: "I love that! I'll just get up to go to the kitchen and he'll be right there by my side."
"Seeing my cats in the window when I get home."
"There is this guy at the gym I go to that has never said a word to me but I see him there every day. He is huge and muscular, anyways I am also trying to get bigger and stronger. I have been training religiously for about 7 months now and have gained 27 pounds in muscle since I started, but he still had never said a word to me, until today. I hit my new max on deadlift(435) and made it up on the record board at my gym in my weight class, he took notice of this and finally started a conversation with me. I have reached a new status in the gym, and it feels so good."
You should be feeling good about yourself! You have been striving towards what you have achieved.
"I have a scar on my right arm. While I was in high school, I pushed myself too far physically and mentally. I studied day and night just so I can get a high rank in class (which was very important to me back then). Once didn't get enough sleep for a week and on my daily commute, I was so tired I fell off the vehicle I was riding. Gave me only a scar on my right arm. I'm not entirely sure how but since then I always wake up and look at that scar and remind myself that I should be happy, whatever results I get in my life. Since then, my days have been brighter than usual."
“I purposely don’t follow a specific Instagram account that my husband follows because he loves sending me their posts. And I love getting them. It brightens my day every time I get them.”
"I've got one of those little picnic table-shaped squirrel feeders attached to the fence around our backyard. Every morning I put a fresh cob of 'squirrel corn' on it and watch the little dudes and dudettes come to feast on it."
"Coming home and smelling the air and instantly knowing it's your favorite food."
“Someone holding the door for me.”
As long as its not the awkward door holding, where I feel like I have to jog
"My kids (3 and 1-year-old boys) getting me up every day. The 3-year-old pushes on me or just jumps on me and says, 'Mom wake up, mommy wake up, it's a beautiful sunshiny day.' While he's doing that my 1 year old just says 'Mom' over and over while usually hitting or bouncing on me.
As soon as they know I'm up it is hugs and kisses, and the 3-year-old asks 'Good morning, did you sleep well?' I frequently fake being asleep just for that."
"My bowl of cereal in the morning. It's more delicious than all the meals thereafter, on par with holiday food. The deeper down the bowl I go the tastier it gets, and I'm left refreshed and energized. It's my cup of coffee.
Also, the sound of birds."
“When someone gives me an unexpected compliment - like when a friend says ‘Oh! You look glowing today’ or ‘Oh! You smell really nice today’. I didn’t do anything special to look or smell good that day, so it’s a pleasant surprise.”
"I have an old friend who I don't talk to much anymore. However, we share a birthday, and every year we race to be the first to tell the other happy birthday.
I won this year."
"When people listen to me. I can be very annoying at times, and most people don’t want to listen to what I have to say because I am young, even if I am well-versed in the subject. So, it always brightens my day when people listen to me. It also makes my day better when people gender me correctly."
Well, the rest of us don't know how to "gender" you, perhaps you could be more specific? I refuse to go through what is left of my life referring to every person as "it" or "them" or "they" but if someone tells me how they wish to be addressed I will do so.
"I work retail, so for me, it's when people smuggle dogs into the shop."
I have interrupted co-workers before, just to make sure they notice the dogs. Brightens all of our days.
"Realizing that I have something to look forward to at home. A new episode of a show that dropped that night or even a desert that I baked or bought."
Having something to look forward to every day is literally so important.
“When somebody misses talking to me. It makes me feel special and that I have real friends I can trust.”
"There’s a middle-aged man that lives on my street and every morning he goes jogging. The dude is dedicated. No matter the weather he is out there, jogs back and forth on our tiny street carrying those hand weight things and sometimes sings to himself. It’s very motivating and heartwarming!"
"My mom just realized that it's already 6:30 and she doesn't feel like cooking tonight. So she suggested we walk up to the pizza place a couple of blocks from our house and grab a 'za for dinner."
“Having time to relax and feel the load of work escaping your shoulder.”
"Before covid, while I was delivering packages I would try to pet every dog that I could. I and honestly it made my day worth doing this job, but since we're not allowed to I've really been contemplating quitting."
"Starting a new game. Always fills me with childlike joy."
"They had pizza in the cafeteria today."
"My parrot. She fell into our house while learning how to fly. The sad thing is we have to release her soon."
So many things! One of my (57f) favorites, traveling to my grandparents house, my folks home town, there is a mountain range you come to as you get off the interstate. Every time I see that range, I do a little happy dance. It says home to me like nothing else. My grandparents are gone, as are most of the family we used to visit there. My dad is gone. So I treasure this feeling.
There's no place like home. Coming over the hill and seeing my parents house, even though I've lived elsewhere for longer than I lived there. It is still 'home'.
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I save up vegetable scraps to put out in the yard for the rabbits to much on. When spring comes, and the baby bunnies start showing up to great me in the mornings for "breakfast," my heart melts.
So many things! One of my (57f) favorites, traveling to my grandparents house, my folks home town, there is a mountain range you come to as you get off the interstate. Every time I see that range, I do a little happy dance. It says home to me like nothing else. My grandparents are gone, as are most of the family we used to visit there. My dad is gone. So I treasure this feeling.
There's no place like home. Coming over the hill and seeing my parents house, even though I've lived elsewhere for longer than I lived there. It is still 'home'.
Load More Replies... I save up vegetable scraps to put out in the yard for the rabbits to much on. When spring comes, and the baby bunnies start showing up to great me in the mornings for "breakfast," my heart melts.
