Hey there, I’m Angela Germano and today I am sharing how I bring happiness into my daily life.

 

Transcript

 

Hey there, you're listening to Everyday Happiness with Katie Jefcoat. But today, I'm Angela Germano taking over.

 

Katie asked me, how do I bring happiness into my life? And I can't help but to giggle. I mean, seriously. I just picture the all too familiar scene that you might be able to relate to. I don't know, maybe your kids are screaming over something stupid like, he's on my part of the couch. Or the TV is blasting YouTube way over the agreed upon level. Your husband is talking loud enough on the phone that they can hear him across state lines. Why do men talk that loud? I don't know. Coats, shoes, socks, sweatshirts, you name it, all over the living room you just straightened up. An endless pile of mail just mounting up. Your sweet little daughter is dripping from blood from yet another too close encounter with a family pet. Seriously, Callie, why do you have to give butterfly kisses to the cat?

 

How do I bring happiness into that life? Well, I try because happiness is everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and see it. With all the crazy, uncontrollable chaos that happens in our lives, we need to celebrate.

 

Celebrate every step of the way. And that is how I'm answering this one, Katie. Celebrate. Let's all sing some Madonna. Celebrate. This is how I bring happiness into our family.

 

Yes - when we get into an argument, I'm like, nope, you gotta sing it. You gotta sing it. We're not allowed to have that tone. So we got to sing. We celebrate every chance we get. We try to infuse laughter. We do this in all sorts of ways.

 

Sometimes I sound like we're so not the Brady Bunch, but I'm envisioning like the Brady Bunch here. Sometimes we do have a little talent show. My daughter's like, wait, I'm going to sing. My son is like, wait, I'm going to do a magic show. That's how we celebrate.

 

Like a good grade. Sometimes we make homemade food together. We take a walk on the boardwalk to celebrate. A bike ride, a hike. We go out for treats. It doesn't have to be costly. We just need to note the good that happened and then we're celebrating it.

 

So I'm going to tell you a little story. I have wonderful neighbors. I really do. I'm very grateful. And one of them, Sue, she follows all of my social posts. She's always in amazement of what we have going on. Like, “oh, you're always doing something with your kids, Angela”. She's very complimentary. And one day Sue says, I get it now, Ang, “you make a big deal out of everything and then you post it”.

 

It doesn't even have to be for a big reason. And you know what? She said it exactly right. It doesn't have to be for a big reason. We share the good. We celebrate. We commemorate memories, like a family movie, reminding us of good times. Those celebrations and memories of celebrations also help us to refocus when we lose our way and help us continue the good.

 

It's positive reinforcement, really. And I want my children to be conditioned that way. We celebrate all the good. We celebrate a beautiful day. We celebrate a compliment. We celebrate  recognition of effort. We celebrate trying something new. All of it. And with anyone who wants to join.

 

So how do I bring happiness into my life? Well, by recognizing the good. And all of us celebrating it. We celebrate it all because we're grateful. And as we know, with gratitude comes happiness.

 

See you tomorrow for another episode. Because I am here all week.

 

About Angela: 

 

Angela Germano is currently an award-winning middle school Language Arts teacher, Communication professor, multi-faceted professional writer in the global medical and self-care sectors and produces inspirational documentaries. In these roles, Mrs. Germano coaches people through their academic, career and life challenges and is devoted to positively impacting people’s lives so they can achieve their dreams.  She is a #1 International Best-Selli