Today I was nice to everyone I encountered and it was fantastic. I don’t think I was overly friendly. You know the kind of friendly that can come across as insincere or even sarcastic. I was just enthusiastically friendly.

I think I’m a reasonably nice person, but lately I have noticed that I can be really short and grumpy with people I randomly meet in day to day life. I’m not quite sure yet what it is. Maybe it’s because I’m slightly stressed at work. Maybe it’s just living in London and the masses of people and the elbow mentality on the tube sucks you into this spiral of grumpiness. Maybe it is something else, or a combination of the above. Anyway, this morning I decided to be nice to everyone I would meet during the day. I was nice to the grumpy post office man. I was nice to the guy who sold me my egg and bacon breakfast sandwich. I was nice to the guy who sold me my lunch. I was nice to the lady who bumped into me on the way home.

Not everybody is nice in return. Some people didn’t even seem to notice. Some just weren’t impressed. Others seemed surprised and decided to return the ‘favour’. Once I was called ‘Sir’ even though I’m a scruffy student. Regardless of people’s reactions, I felt good. I was happy. With myself, with the world. I felt content. I was even more productive at work. Which made me happy. A perpetual vicious cycle of happiness.

Turns out life is better when you’re friendly. The challenge now is to try and be friendly more often, on a regular basis, every day. Be friendly and be happy. Challenge accepted.

P.S.: Listening to Pharrell Williams’ song Happy all day also helps, it’s contagious!