“The noblest art is that of making others HAPPY.” – P. T. Barnum
3 years ago when I started my blog, I was a Kindergarten teacher who always got asked where she got her “cute teacher clothes” from. I loved it. I loved sharing new boutiques with my fellow colleagues and I loved finding new items at a good price. I followed 2 bloggers on Instagram at that time, that was it. Hailey Devine and Savvy Skirt Girl. I loved seeing Heather from Savvy Skirt Girl share her outfit each day and how she styled it. I felt inspired by her creativity and felt like I would have a lot of fun posting my daily outfit on an Instagram page. It was a creative outlook for me and pushed me to find new ways to wear my current wardrobe, which on a teacher budget, wasn’t much.
Now this blog post was not meant to start out and explain how my blog started, but I wanted to start off and explain a little bit of the back story because my blog started as a daily outfit Instagram account. No blog. No professional photos. No real purpose other than to share my love of fashion with others. Over time as it grew, I began to realize that the reason people started following me was for the teacher outfits, but the reason people LIKED following me, was because I WAS HAPPY.
Now let’s go back even more in time and tell you that lucky me, I’ve always been a pretty happy go lucky girl. I think it is a talent that I’ve been truly blessed with. I was even voted “Most Positive” of my graduating high school class. Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t have bad days, or that I’m not sad (more on that later), but I truly believe that Heavenly Father blessed me with an attitude of happiness. After I realized how many messages I was getting about how people left my stories feeling happier, more positive, and in a better mood, I realized that if I could share more of that, I would love it.
That’s when Celebrate The Everyday Life was born. I loved being able to promote a little more happiness on social media. Help people see that it is okay….no wait, it is GREAT to celebrate the happy parts of life and that those parts still make you a REAL PERSON ON INSTAGRAM. (See my thoughts on that here.)
Over the last few months though, I’ve been wanting to figure out the direction of my blog for 2019 and that’s when it hit me.
HELP PEOPLE LEARN HOW TO BE HAPPY.
Sometimes being happy takes work. It takes effort. And it takes a deeper understanding of our mental capacity and our state of mind each and every day. Sometimes being happy is easy, and something we didn’t even realize we were feeling. Happiness is a crazy emotion and something that some people even think we shouldn’t strive for. I’ve heard from multiple sources and fellow bloggers that we shouldn’t strive to be happy because happiness is fleeting. We should strive for joy because that is more long lasting. And while I 100% agree with that statement, that is why I want to be happy. I chose the word HAPPY because with happy comes sad and sadness is part of life. I think that recognizing our sadness, helps us to live happier. So I’m moving forward with the word HAPPY because to me, it is so much more than an emotion.
I am not one to get super philosophical and you guys get that if you’ve followed me for awhile. I’m pretty basic with almost everything I do. I’m no expert in makeup. I’m not an expert in fashion or styling. I’m not an expert on being happy. I didn’t get a degree in psychology or sociology. I don’t understand all of that, but what I do know is that I love sharing happiness with others and so that’s what I’m going to do.
So now where does that leave us for 2019? Don’t worry I’m coming back from my tangent and coming full circle here. 2019 is going to be full of tips, tricks, and fun challenges to help YOU live a more happy and styled life. I’m going to get explicit, real, and raw while sharing how I stay happy, what happens when I’m sad, and how I turn my attitude around, all while giving you step by step help to making the most out of your existing closet, styling those items you don’t know how to style, and shopping smarter.
So with all of that said, I am so excited to announce our year long project that involves YOU just as much as it involves me. THE HAPPY LIFE CHALLENGE. This challenge is meant to be fun, engaging, eye opening, and meaningful for your life. I’ve spent the last 3 months figuring out what makes people live happier lives and what we can take away from that. I put those into monthly and weekly challenges to focus on and won’t require you to take a lot of time, but will help you change your mindset or even better your mindset, so you can live a happier life.
Each month you’ll get an email with the theme for the month plus 4 small tasks to do that month. Some of these themes include moving your body, getting outside, being grateful, etc. I’ve broken those themes into weekly ideas/goals to help you move through the month with a reminder of the theme, but feel free to do them however you see it working the best for you. When you sign up for the email (which you can do on the home screen of my blog) you’ll get outlines of what to do, along with free downloads that include quotes, phone lock screen downloads, and checklists to help keep you on track each month. I want to give you the tools you need to stay happier and live a better life!
Let’s do this together! Let’s live happier, be better, and share that with others. I’d love for you to participate however you want/need. I’m attaching the first month outline below, so you can get an idea of how things will go, but don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter for future updates and ideas. Use the hashtag #thehappylifechallenge if you ever post about the challenge or if you share it with your friends on social media (which I would LOVE). Get on your story, share what you are doing, use the hashtag and I’ll feature you on my story. Or even post a quote from the newsletter for the month and tag me (@everyday_ellis) and #thehappylifechallenge. Don’t worry our #celebratetheeverydaylife hashtag will still be going strong and I want you to continue to use that when you post about anything you are celebrating in your daily life on social media.
I hope you love this challenge as much as I do and I hope that it helps you like it has helped me! Now let’s get out there and GET HAPPY!
