If there was an award for the person who worries the most in the world, I would probably win! I worry so much Springsters... From myself to my siblings and exams, from friends, to my body, to my future, the list goes on. I’m always expecting things to go wrong, and because of that they do!

Last week my bestie Selima said she had had enough of my worrying. It was not getting me anywhere and she was right. I always felt anxious, stressed and distracted. Not cool!

Selima suggested I try something called The Happiness Challenge. She told me happiness is not something that falls from the sky. You have to actively seek it and make a decision to be it. Selima also said there were 3 steps on the journey to happiness. Here’s what she taught me about it:

STEP 1

To get me started Selima asked me some questions to help me discover what I love in life. She asked me:

• What do you dream about?
• What gets you excited and gives you energy?
• What are you passionate about?

These questions really got me thinking and helped me know myself more. I was able to write a long list of things that I love in life.

STEP 2

Once you have your happiness list, write down how much time you spend doing those things.

Mine looked like this:

Spending time with friends – Only 2 times a month because no one wanted to hang out with me because I worried too much.

Taking beautiful pictures – Never, because I thought I wasn’t good enough to be a photographer.

Learning to bake yummy cakes – Once in a while, because I was lazy and put it off.

WOW! I began to realise that I spent so little time doing what I love and so much time worrying! No wonder I felt anxious so much of the time.

STEP 3

Selima told me the key to happiness is knowing what you love and doing it!! Next we took the 12 months of the year and made a plan for each month. Every month I would focus on doing something in my list that made me happy.

So in January I got a jar and started to save up for a camera. In February I spent more time in the kitchen with my parents learning some awesome recipes. And every weekend I made an effort to spend more time with my friends and be positive.

I’m so grateful to my bestie Selima for teaching me how to be happy so I could say BYE TO WORRYING.