Throughout the journey you and I will take together, we’ll cover a lot of ground. We’ll look at happiness from every possible angle, because many things affect mood: diet, exercise, relationships, you name it. One very natural question at this stage might be
“Where do I start?“
Don’t worry, the short answer is, it doesn’t matter. Not too much anyway. Here’s why: Out of all the things you could do to improve your mood, all of them will have some effect. Say you focus on sleep first, and successfully sleep better. You’ll be happier.
Beside the fact that it just feels good to sleep well, this has a whole bunch of knock-on effects. Sleep well, and you’re in a better state of mind to make good food choices. And by making better food choices, you’ll also be happier. The nodes of the network all affect each other, and a few good decisions can quickly build on each other and create a compound effect.
The thing about happiness is, it impacts these nodes almost as much as they impact it. Think about it: when you feel good, you’ll be more awesome to be around, improving your relationships. Feeling good can make you more creative, improving your hobby or that problem at work.
I call this web of relationships the Happiness Network. What you call it doesn’t matter – the point of seeing it as a network is simply to emphasise how it all ties together. How many things affect mood, and mood, in return, affects many things. How they all affect each other. It’s a network of bi-directional relationships.
It might seem overwhelming to look at/think of, but here’s why it’s great: it gives you a ton of options for where to begin, or what to tackle next.
The important thing isn’t where you start, but that you start somewhere.
This is the biggest step you will take towards taking control over your happiness, right here: Getting started. I know it’s incredibly hard to start something, anything, when you’re low on energy or in a bad mood. I’ve been there: When the pandemic started, I was unproductive working from home and couldn’t muster the energy to stay in touch with friends. I felt cloudy all day, and by 8pm, even watching my favourite shows was a struggle.
It’s easy to just leave it for when you’re feeling motivated. That’s a trap. It works precisely the other way around – do something, no matter how shit you feel… and it gives you energy. Do it over and over… and before you know it, it feels weird not to do it. It’s a habit. By that point, it barely takes energy because you’re used to just… doing it.
Where I like to start
Not every relationship in the Network is equally strong in each direction. Poop well, and you’re in a good mood. But it’s not like being in a good mood will help you poop better, right?
Right??
Ok, there’s some evidence that your mood can affect your bowel movements. But the point is, while there are no bad starting points, there are some which we know a lot more about and can rely on before tackling the more niche nodes.
These are exercise, food, and sleep. These have some of the biggest direct impact on mood, while also being pretty easy to improve. That’s why our journey will start with a heavy focus on these. That’s why they make up the major sections of my blog.
These three areas are still super broad, so we’ll explore them each, step by step. I’ll provide some instant ways to improve them, and some longer-term ways. I’ll give you some things you can do for free, and some things you have to dish out for (that are worth every penny).
Exercise, food, and sleep hold a special place in my heart. In the darkest times of my life, mastering these helped me see the light. Sometimes, when my life situation changed, I had to find new ways to improve them. This was especially tough during lockdown, but I did it. And in return, I felt amazing even when we entered a second, even stricter lockdown here in Melbourne. And I’ll share it all with you. ‘s get you happier!