Happiness is such a personal thing and it’s certainly something that develops & changes over time. When you’re younger you tend to have a much more extreme version of what happiness will look like (accepting an Oscar in Hollywood, playing football at Wembley stadium, winning the lottery) you imagine the big stuff will make you happy.

As you get older and have probably experienced some lovely highs, you have also learnt that with extremes, comes the flip side and that’s not too pretty.

So inevitably as you age you seek out simpler pleasures, try to stay more balanced and have a calmer view of creating your own happiness.

Theres a lot of expectation put on happiness. We imagine it’s some euphoric place that we will never emerge from and so when it subsides we struggle to get back on track.

My thoughts are this. Look for the simple things to make you happy; the cuppa and a biscuit, reading your favourite book, a beautiful skyline, a good laugh with friends and keep your head when the big exciting stuff happens. You can enjoy the big exciting stuff but don’t get so crazy involved that the moment it’s over you fall into a mild depression.

Now here’s 5

tasks to help you get back to basics, get back to simple pleasures and finding your own brand of happiness:

1- Write down 10 things you like about yourself right now. What are your best attributes?

2- Spend a day reconnecting with those closest and those you haven’t spoken to in a long time. Send a few texts, make a few calls, connect with people. Remind people you care and compliment them. Those connections will naturally make you feel good and you never know who needs you to reach out or where these conversations may lead.

3- Go for a long walk, somewhere a bit green or along a beach. Go and touch the sand, leaves, trees, breath in the fresh air. Sit there for a moment and just ‘be’. Clear your head and I want you to sit for a moment and think about 10 things that you feel grateful for in your life. No matter what your situation, there’s always something.

4- Spend a day on you. A guilt free day where you just do something for pleasure. During that day I also want you to write down 10 things you love doing. What makes you feel good, feel happy, feel joyous? You are then going to find ways to add this all into your life. Enjoy your day of guilt free happiness.

5- Go somewhere new. It doesn’t have to be far (it could be of course, but it doesn’t have to be) When you’re there, at some point I want you to write down 10 reasons why you deserve to be happy. This is your life, don’t you deserve to live it to its fullest? Set aside any negativity about yourself and focus purely on the good.

Happiness is a choice. Sometimes it’s harder to see it than others, but let’s choose to be happy, today!