Woman's new year 'happiness jar' goes viral

A woman has inspired others with her “happiness jar” concept – and, at this gloomy time of year, it sounds like just what we need.

Stacey Fell, a British woman based in Dubai, shared an image of a mason jar full of folded pieces of paper on her Instagram account – telling her followers it was the fifth year she had made one like it.

For those wondering what exactly a “happiness jar” entails, Fell explains it is “a jar I fill with scraps of paper throughout the year with ANYTHING that made me happy in that moment, big or small.”

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This could include “a compliment, an amazing meal, an achievement, a beautiful sunset, a time you laughed so much you thought you might pee yourself, a holiday, something that happened to a friend that was amazing.”

Fell explained that, every year, she tips out the jar and reads all the memories before starting again.

The process of writing down positive takeaways from the day is often referred to as “gratitude journalling”. The practice has been linked to positive mental health benefits in a number of studies.

While at least a quarter of us will have made new year’s resolutions for 2020, according to a YouGov poll – but many of these are doomed to fail, with 80% of us breaking our resolutions by the second week of February.

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Fell’s is a refreshing take on the concept based around small daily efforts – and even on the toughest of days it’s almost always possible to find a tiny glimmer of positivity.

Other alternative ways to do new year’s resolutions include making a 2020 bucket list; making easily-achievable “micro-resolutions”, or making month-long resolutions.

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