There is much studied and written about the positive mental and physical impacts that regular gratitude can have. I will be the first to acknowledge I am terrible at this. I can’t get myself to sit down and meditate. I am terrible at journaling. I just can’t manage to stop my world and take the time for such things most days.

But mini positive moments? That I can do. I can start my day staring at my flowers instead of a screen – for like literally thirty seconds and then it’s back to insta. I can be grateful to the person that held the door for me or let me in in traffic. I can snuggle my dog and think about what a difference he’s made in my world. Heck, I can snuggle my husband and think the same thing.

The difference is your mental state more than your physical actions. The difference is not only looking at your pretty flowers but also letting it sink in just how happy they make you. It’s letting your brain catch up and thinking kind thoughts to the human who let you in in traffic and made your commute a tiny bit easier. It’s not only being happy in the moment, but also letting it resonate in your brain that this was a good thing.

It’s so easy to let all the other things in. It’s so easy to let stress and anxiety and negative things in the world actually impact your brain without being able to do anything about those things most of the time. But you can counter that with intentionally finding good things and ensuring that they sink in too. You can control what you let into your brain. You can control what you expose yourself to. I choose to expose myself to more peace and more mini happy thoughts. Micro joy.