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It's the little things in life.
By Christine Schoenwald — Written on Dec 23, 2016
We recently adopted a tortoiseshell cat named Josie and she’s a real terror. When she’s not biting or scratching us, she’s stealing things, knocking stuff down, and breaking whatever she can get her paws on.
She’s not big on affection and usually only allows us to scratch the back of her neck for a couple of minutes. But today, she came over on her own accord, crawled into my arms and let me pet her while she purred up a storm. It was such a simple thing but it made me so happy.
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It really can be the smallest things that give us the most happiness. We might think it’s money and being able to buy whatever we want that makes us happy when in truth it’s the experiences we have that are the big producers of happiness.
Think how you feel when you get to sleep in or you travel to a place you’ve never been to and yet you feel as if you’re at home.
There are times that the tiniest movement or action forward is what brings us joy. Maybe it’s sharing an inside joke with your boo or hitting it off with a friend. Small actions, little connections, and simple realizations such as solving a problem can deliver a lot of happiness for very little input.
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There’s no one thing that makes everyone happy. The kitten made me happy but she would have the opposite effect on my friend who can’t stand animals. For her, the perfect glass of wine would give her a moment of happiness.
You can feel happy in all different kinds of doses: momentarily, long-range, or sporadically.
When we’re feeling stressed and about ready to pull out our hair, it’s good to know what will give us a jolt of happiness and astrology can help. Here are the small things that make you happy, based on your zodiac sign.
Aries (March 21 - April 19)
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Winning makes you very happy, whether it's a game that you once played as a child or a tennis match with a friend. Small or large victories and doing something are your keys to happiness.
Read: The 13 Brutal Truths About Loving An Aries, As Written By One
Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
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Since you're very sensual, anything that has to do with the senses makes you happy. If you smell something wonderful like freshly baked bread or if someone gives you a glorious bouquet of flowers that you can feast your eyes on, you're happy.
Read: The 5 Brutal Truths About Loving A Taurus, As Written By One
Gemini (May 21 - June 20)
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It may be old school but having a long catch-up conversation on the phone with someone you care about makes you genuinely happy. You love connecting with people and your favorite way is through communication.
Read: The 13 Brutal Truths About Loving A Gemini, As Written By One
Cancer (June 21 - July 22)
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One simple thing that makes you happy is when you get a gesture of support from your friends or family. Knowing that someone understands and has your back is a sure way to get you to have the positive feels.
Read: The 5 Brutal Truths About Loving A Cancer, As Written By One
Leo (July 23 - August 22)
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You're so generous and fabulous that it's no wonder the small thing that makes you happy is when you make someone else happy. You might give a stranger a compliment or give a sweet hug to a friend, and you get contact happiness from the exchange.
Virgo (August 23 - September 22)
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You get happy when you achieve a small victory such as fixing the hard drive on a computer or figuring out why your streaming device isn't working. You get pleasure from solving mysteries, puzzles, and complicated problems.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Virgo (As Written By A Virgo)
Libra (September 23 - October 22)
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You get great happiness from making other people laugh — it's one of the reasons you're often the life of the party. You like being entertaining and fun, and there's no better way of knowing that for sure than by the sound of other people's laughter.
Read: 11 Brutal Truths About Loving A Libra, As Written By One
Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)
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People may not know it by looking at you but you get very happy when you're singing in your car, or in the shower, or around the house. It could be anything from opera to Taylor Swift, but when you're belting it out, you're happy.
Read: 14 Brutal Truths About Loving A Scorpio, As Written By One
Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)
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You get happy when you buy something that you really want and you get it on sale. Since you love traveling so much, the transaction could happen in a flea market in London or at a souk in Morocco.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Sagittarius, As Written By One
Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)
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You're always working and multi-tasking so it's not surprising that one of the small things that makes you happy is waking up before your alarm goes off, realizing that you can go back to sleep. Hell, you can even sleep in if you want to (though, knowing you, you rarely want to).
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Capricorn, As Written By One
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)
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You get happy when you do something spontaneous and unexpected, like when you're on a road trip and you decide to take an old highway that you've never traveled on before.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving An Aquarius, As Written By One
Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
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The small thing that makes you happy is when you get a chance to be creative. It doesn't have to be a great work of art that you're working on, it can just be painting your child's bedroom or wrapping a special gift.
Read: 7 Brutal Truths About Loving A Pisces, As Written By One