TODAY is the International Day of Happiness, an event commissioned by the General Assembly of the United Nations to raise awareness that well-being and happiness are fundamental to human life.

Best-selling author Liggy Webb, from Cheltenham, has developed a happiness pack which highlights 10 happy habits to help everyone get the best and most out of their life and spread a little happiness everywhere they go.  

Topics include embracing change, managing stress and developing resilience.

"If you hear yourself saying 'I don’t like change' you may as well be saying 'I don’t like life', Liggy said.

"Change is one of the few inevitabilities in our lives and we can choose to view it any way we wish.

"Embracing change and cultivating a positive attitude towards it will help you to be more agile.

"If we resist change we only end up breaking, so developing a bit of bendability will help you to go with the ebbs and flows of life that we are destined to experience."

Here are a few tips from Liggy that will help when making changes and creating new habits:

  •  Embrace change to get the best and most out of life
  • Be open minded to all the opportunities that change can bring
  •  Understand the emotions that change can evoke and mentally prepare yourself
  • Be positive and seek out and focus on the benefits of change
  • Read and be inspired by the success stories of people who have experienced change
  • Chunk up change – the journey of a 1,000 steps starts with the very first one!

"Remember, change can be very positive because if you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always go," Liggy said.

"If you don’t like something, change it, and if you can’t change it, change your attitude. You alone are totally in control of that."

Liggy also offers advice for managing stress.

"We all need a certain amount of pressure in our lives to galvanise us into action and ‘healthy stress’ can be productive and act as a motivator," she said.

"However, too much pressure or prolonged pressure can lead to stress disorders, which are unhealthy for the mind and body."

Liggy's useful tips for managing stress include exercise, avoiding caffeinated drinks and alcohol, talking to people about problems and spending time with 'positive' people.

Liggy’s free Happiness pack can be found at www.liggywebb.com/international_day_of_happiness.pdf

For more information about International Day of Happiness go to www.un.org/en/events/happinessday