Happy File

Everybody needs a Happy File.  It’s a repository of items that come to you, often unexpectedly, that make you feel, well, HAPPY!  I’ve had a Happy File since I entered the workforce full-time more than two decades ago Happy File Image– if you don’t already have one of these treasure troves, I recommend you get started right away, whatever your age or professional stage in life.  Wonder where to begin?  Allow me to explain.

Have you ever received a special note from someone or a certificate of achievement or had a great article written about you in a local newsletter?  How about a great annual review of your performance or maybe a taken a beautiful photograph with someone important to you or perhaps had your name and photo listed on the program distributed at a conference or event?  The possibilities are both endless and very personal.  Consider what would make you happy to read and re-read, again and again.  Gather up these items and put them in your Happy File.  I’m talking about documented evidence of your accomplishments – big and small – that you can dig out from time to time to remind yourself just how awesome you are.  Whether you’re feeling down or nostalgic or getting ready for a big meeting, a quick spin through your Happy File might offer the little boost you need to amp up your mood, your confidence, your can-do spirit!

Of course, don’t forget, while bolstering your own ego, you can help fill somebody else’s Happy File, too.  Jot them a handwritten message of appreciation for their help with or leadership on an important project.  Write a few sentences of recommendation on their LinkedIn profile.  Recognize them at a team meeting for a job well done.  Send a Thank You Note in gratitude for taking time to meet with you and offering their input on a challenge you are facing.  Whatever you do, rest assured it will be noticed and appreciated.  Your pay-it-forward approach to making someone else happy will certainly reflect back on you and kick up your own happiness by a notch or two!

So, tell me… do you have a Happy File?  Any special items or notes you are willing to share?  Please do so by clicking on this link and adding a comment.

4 thoughts to “Happy File”

  1. I do have a happy file. I was a speaker at the first women’s conference at the college in Warrensburg, MO. I was featured in an article in the Shawnee Dispatch. One thing I like to do is when partners are in the paper I cut out the article and laminate it and give it to the person it is about. I like to spread smiles!

  2. I have a happy box…. actually more than one. Old cigar boxes and an old ‘box of chocolates’ from my Granny Todd’s linen closet. (I SWEAR they still smell like her closet…clean and fresh!) In one box are all the notes my sweetheart, Don has ever written to me. In the other are letters of thanks sent from cancer patients and their families…lives I have touched in some unique way over my career as an oncology nurse. Your post reminded me to get those boxes out. I may just set them right on top of my desk in my ‘home office’. Great post, Alana!

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