It’s a tough time for libraries, and people in customer service. And while we don’t want to veer into any toxic positivity, it is good to spend a little time focused on building your happiness level. We are not going to solve people’s serious mental issues here. But bringing some happiness skills to your week can be helpful to everyone!

Mondays can be a little hard, even when things are going fine. Use this small injection of a happiness skill to your week. We are here to support you, and to help you to be a little happier in the library.

While we can’t promise to make your life happier in all ways, taking time to have small snacks of joy in a day can help to keep your happiness levels on a nice level for yourself.

Here is a joy from the article Want to feel happier? Try snacking on joy.

“It is also important not to fall prey to what some psychologists have called “killjoy thinking,” which actively inhibits enjoyment by neutralizing positive moods. For example, watching a beautiful sunset with a loved one but only focusing on how cold it is about to get is tantamount to stealing a joy snack right out of your own mouth.

That cup of coffee. The cuddliness of your pet. A joke whose punchline hits just right.

Focusing on the sensations and emotions you feel in these moments can make the joy snack all the richer.

It can take practice to get better at identifying and appreciating these experiences, but“once you learn to slow down and pay attention to those things, put more weight on those things, your life feels more fulfilled and more meaningful,” Hicks said.

Nature is one powerful source of joy snacks that many people can nosh on, in part because of its power of inducing awe.

Hicks and his colleagues found that just having participants watch the two-minute opener to the nature documentary “Planet Earth” produced appreciation for the experience and, in turn, a greater sense of meaning.

“Nature is all around us, but it’s very easy to ignore it and downplay it,” Hicks said.

Sometimes taking a walk in the park and smelling the roses — by yourself or with others — is simply all you need to do to find some everyday joy.”

You can read the whole article here.

CMLE can be part of your support network; we are here for you, and support you in your library work. Take a nice deep breath in, and whoosh it out; it’s going to be okay today.