Louise Thompson: Look around once in a while

We want our lives to be defined by as much light, love, laughter and joy as possible. Photo / Getty Images

By way of a pub quiz, a seriously startling fact has just come to my attention. It appears that Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the movie, came out in 1986. Nineteen. Eighty. Freaking. Six! Whaaaaat? Feel free to take a moment to mop your fevered brow and wonder where on earth the past 30 years just went. How can that be? Anyone? Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?

It makes the immortal quote from Ferris himself even more poignant "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Well we don't want that. We want to pack it with as many joyful and happy moments as possible. So I thought a Joy List could be in order today.

We want our lives to be defined by as much light, love, laughter and joy as possible. The more of that we have, the more resilience we have to weather the inevitable squally patches we will all encounter. The thing is, when we are head down, bum up, absorbed in busy-ness and getting things done, actively seeing joy can be something we defer to later. Let's not shall we? Let's take a moment today to stop and look around at what brings us joy so we can deliberately sprinkle more of that stuff everywhere.

Make your own Joy List right here:

• List 3 places that make you happy

How much time do you spend there? How regular is it? Can you find a way to increase that? What do you need to do to make that happen? Or, if it's somewhere far afield - like Mexico - can you bring a bit of a feel-good Mexico vibe to you? Taco night. Hang that Mexican rug on the wall like you promised you would when you bought it in that dusty market. Get some special tequila. Can you bring the essence of that joyful place to you?

• 3 people who bring you joy and uplift you when you spend time with them

Note: it might not be the people you feel you "should" be putting down there. That's okay. It's your Joy List, no one has to see it but you. How much time do you spend with the people who spark joy for you? If it's your cousin but you only see each other once every few months it's time to up the priority. Maybe you can facetime more, or maybe it's a great excuse to organise a girl's trip to Melbourne. Subtly realign the way you spend your time to get more of the people who lift you up.

• 3 times you laughed out loud in the last week

Studies show kids laugh hundreds of times a day. Pure spontaneous joy. Adults - not so much. Half a dozen at best. Our lol score is pitiful. Who or what makes you laugh? Genuine joyful laughter? Make deliberate plans to tickle your funny bone more often.

• 3 activities that light you up

Where do you lose track of time - get so absorbed that the minutes or hours fly by? Surfing? Knitting? Cooking? DIY-ing? Hiking? How much time do you actually spend doing that stuff as a percentage of your week or month? What can you gently let go of in order to allow a little more joy time in?

We all have the same 10,080 minutes in a week. The same 8760 hours in a year. We can't change that. What we can change is what we spend them on, where we spend them, and who with. Cramming as much joy into each day seems like a good plan to me. Life does indeed move pretty fast. Look around once in a while, don't miss it.

Through her online Happiness programme "Wellbeing Warriors", life coach Louise Thompson helps people unlock their happiest and healthiest life. Sign up at louisethompson.com and find more from Louise at bite.co.nz/wellbeing.

Follow Louise Thompson on Facebook and see her personal website here.