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Thursday, July 17, 2014

My Honest Thoughts on #100HappyDays

Hey y'all! So this post has been a long time coming. I finished the challenge on Instagram 2 weeks ago, and wrote my final recap last week, so check that out if you haven't already! I've also decided to intersperse my text with some of my favorite photos from the challenge, so enjoy!
I'm not going to lie, I did not get as much out of this challenge as I wanted to. According to the website:

       "People successfully completing the challenge claimed to:

        - Start noticing what makes them happy every day;
        - Be in a better mood every day;
        - Start receiving more compliments from other people;
        - Realize how lucky they are to have the life they have;
        - Become more optimistic;
        - Fall in love during the challenge."

I did notice what made me happy, but that was only because "Oh, crap, I need a post for today." I'm a really competitive person, so I was more worried about being one of the few people to finish the challenge (Shoutout to Marla and Shruthi for finishing too!) than actually finding things to be happy about. It really stressed me out when it was 9 PM and I hadn't posted anything for the day. 
I'm also a total perfectionist, so my photo had to be like-worthy, so not just a last-minute selfie, or poorly photographed food. Good composition, beautiful lighting, and not-obviously filtered (although I broke this rule a few times). Remember that I started this in March, so I was doing this all through AP tests and finals. Because of this, I turned to my 1500 photo camera roll/Facebook to look for throwbacks. I'm no even kidding, at the end of the challenge, I ran out of pictures to post. I'm pretty sure I posted 3 or 4 photos from my school's grad with different people. 


It's not that I always hated it. I loved taking the time to write a couple of thoughtful sentences about a friend whom I really appreciated, and it was truly an honor to be in another friend's post for the day. With the whole being happier thing, I'm already a pretty happy person, so that wasn't exactly my goal. 

The effects of #100HappyDays? Posting every single day means lots of notifications, so nowadays, I don't post everyday (thank god- it's WAY too much work), and I don't have as many notifications now, which was a little weird at first, but I've liked settling back into my regular routine of posting whenever I feel like it.


Do I recommend trying the challenge? Sure! It's definitely a challenge, and you'll feel accomplished for getting it done, and who knows- you might see the effects the foundation claims people see. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. No harm in trying :)

If you've done the challenge, what are your thoughts on it? If not, would you consider trying it? 

xo, Hima

54 comments:

  1. I did the challenge! I kind of cheated because some days I would post more than one picture + count it as two days.. I definitely felt stress trying to think of something every day and I really don't know that it changed my outlook on life any!

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  2. I really want to do this but I feel like I would forget lol

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  3. Interesting perspective...thanks for being honest! i think it would be more stressful to me than anything...trying to find something to post about every day! I mean, i definitely find things to be grateful for and that make me happy everyday, but i would forget to take photos of them!

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  4. I completed the challenge back in the beginning of June. It was definitely fun to do and I loved being able to accomplish it, however I didn't like when I forgot to post something because I didn't always remember to take a picture of the things that made me happy, I just embraced them. Overall I liked the challenge, but I didn't get as much out of it as I thought I would.

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  5. I understand how you could feel that way. I don't know if the challenge would be for me, I like to create my own happiness and challenges, without having to follow a rule or whatever.

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  6. I loved reading your thoughts on it! I've never done something like that, but I try to be good about finding "happy things" in my life anyway! :)

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  7. I had a friend tell me the challenge stressed her out because she was always looking for something to post last minute.

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  8. I would love to try this challenge out - but like every other challenges I've ever done, I always fail :(
    But I'm happy this challenge got you feeling much more happier!

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  9. I thought I too would get stressed from wanting to complete the challenge on daily basis as opposed to when I felt like it or remember

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  10. Instagram challenges stress me out! lol

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  11. I have a really hard time joining challenges like this, or any really. I always get burned out and give up. lol. But I do love the idea of them!

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  12. I think this would be a fun challenge. But I would probably stress about trying to post every day, and then just stop.

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  13. I'm one of the ones who started and forgot all about it. Kudos to you for finishing it, I would love to know if you ever get the book they say they send - that might encourage me to try again!

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  14. Congrats for finishing it! I always start those Instagram challenges and forget about them.

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  15. I couldn't agree with you more! I only got to like Day 45 and was just struggling to find the unique stuff! And I'm just like you! I need my pictures to be good so it was more work than anything so I quit! HA. I guess I'll never know...

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  16. I can't imagine posting every day! I do two times a week and even then sometimes I forget! heh. Great job completing it though!

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  17. I missed it this time around but I'm joining in next time! #100happydays

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  18. It sounds like fun but yeah a lot of work.

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  19. That does seem like a lot of work. I've done a 365 before but didn't finish it. :X

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  20. Totally unrelated but I love the outfit you're wearing! Also, I got through day 7 or so and just stopped all together. I found I was just finding ANYTHING to photograph for the sake of the challenge and I too am a photo perfectionist so it was kind of a pain to organize everything to my liking! Good for you for sticking to it though!

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  21. I challenged myself to write a blog post every day for a month a few years ago. I think it ended up lasting three months and while it was definitely inspiring/motivating, I was grateful to stop. I think this is a great way to jumpstart creativity, but it's so hard to keep up!

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  22. I just got my new phone so I'm definitely gonna start the challenge! Im also ridiculously competitive so hopefully that will motivate me to not get lazy :)

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  23. Ugh, yeah I agree 100%. It was more stress than anything!

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  24. No problem! :) I thought it was good to share haha :) Sometimes there are things that you really can't capture in a photograph, like the smell of fresh pizza, or the warmth in a friend's face!

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  25. I agree! Sometimes there are things that you really can't capture in a
    photograph, like the smell of fresh pizza, or the warmth in a friend's
    face, but overall, I liked it!

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  26. Yes! I definitely love creating my own challenges and goals!

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  27. I think it's so important to find what we're thankful for!

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  28. She's so right! I usually post whenever I feel like it, but I ended up posting a lot late at night because I'd forget during the day!

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  29. You should definitely try it! It's not for everyone, but it could be for you! :)

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  30. Yes! I wish it was 100 happy posts instead of days- then they wouldn't have to be daily!

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  31. me too! This was my first one, and I didn't loooove it.

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  32. This is the first one I've successfully completed, so you're not alone!

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  33. I almost stopped several times! It can be really inconvenient!

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  34. haha thank you! :) Turns out that you have to buy the book! It costs $15 :(

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  35. I found that I ended up posting a TON of throwbacks- they became "friend appreciation posts" instead because they were good pictures as opposed to a crappy food photo

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  36. I didn't think I'd be able to but I'm glad I did it!

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  37. A month sounds better! I do like the way 100 happy days sounds though ;)

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  38. Well it's not really an ongoing thing- you can join whenever you want! Just sign up at 100happydays.com!

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  39. longer than I thought! It took me over 3 months!

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  40. I'm not sure if it was more fun or more work.

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  41. A whole year is just too long! I could never do that!

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  42. HAHA thank you! :) It's one of my favorite outfits. Photo perfectionism is the worst- I'll take like 40 pictures and not end up liking any of them!

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  43. Wow, that's awesome! I hardly write threee days a week and that's more than enough for me!

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  44. YAY what's your insta? I'll follow you and give you encouragement if you ever need any? :)

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  45. I just followed you to make it easier on both of us, and YES, an occasional kick in the butt should totally keep me going. I think I'll start on the first of August!!

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  46. Haha I wish I'd been more competitive about it but I just didn't care. No shame about skipping days...but I agree, I didn't necessarily feel the results they claimed you would feel, but I do think my photography skills improved a lot and I can more easily see photo-worthy things around me. Also I'm kinda sad you're done because I LOVE YOU POSTING EVERY DAYYY.

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  47. YAY I followed you back- super excited for you!

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  48. Oh yeah, I hadn't even thought about the whole photography skills thing! Totally agree! And awww, I'll just Snapchat you every day instead to make up for it. (Oh wait.....I already do)

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment! You probably just made my day :) I do my best to reply to every single one, even if it takes a little while. Make sure you're not a no-reply blogger so we don't get deprived of a wonderful conversation!
xo, Hima