100 Small Things That Make My Day Better

I’m a great believer that the small things in life are actually the things that matter most. And that’s especially so when living with chronic health conditions.

Life with chronic pain and illness can feel overwhelming. Sometimes everything seems so bleak that it can feel as though there isn’t anything to smile about. When you’re struggling, it can be difficult to notice them, but, for me, focusing on small things helps to shift my perspective. These little moments brighten my day, lift my mood, and sometimes even help me cope with pain.

I decided to make a list of 100 small things that make my day better. My plan is that, when I’m having one of those really rough days when I want to bury myself under the duvet, I’ll come back and read this list as a reminder that the small things truly do matter.

100 Small Things That Make My Day Much Better

Okay….here we go (in no particular order.)

1. Living where I live. The scenery is beautiful. Even when I am not doing well and can’t get out of the house, I look out of the windows and appreciate how lucky I am to live here.
2. Waking up to find Ian putting a cuppa on my bedside table.
3. Kip, my gorgeous Hungarian wire-haired vizsla. Okay, I know she’s not exactly small but if you know me, then you’ll know she means the world to me. I need to include her in this post because she would take offence if I didn’t.
   
4. Managing to put on socks myself without help.
5. Hot weather because when the weather is really nice, I don’t need to wear socks.
6. Catching up with friends and family either in person, by phone or online.
7. Thinking that I need to refill my pill box but I discover that there’s another day’s worth of meds in it. (I hate refilling my pill box.)
8. When my hubby and I suddenly start singing the same song at the same time. I have no idea how that happens.
9. When I remember something funny and have another giggle about it days or even weeks later. It becomes even funnier if this is witnessed by someone else who has no idea why I am laughing.
10. Finding something I thought I had lost.
11. Finding something my husband lost. (He always loses things…small things and big things. Honestly, almost every day, we spend time looking for something and I normally find what he’s lost.)
12. Being able to snooze whenever I need to.
13. Managing to complete a task. It doesn’t matter how long it might take, the end result is the important part.
14. My shower seat.
15. Singing. I need to add something here though – I cannot sing, but I sing nearly all the time.
16. My husband for putting up with my singing. The only time he asks me to stop is if he’s on the phone. That’s love.
17. My husband’s clues. My husband’s clues. My memory is like a sieve these days, so I often forget actors’ or singers’ names. Instead of just telling me, my husband gives me clues until I work it out — it always makes me laugh. For example: Something your write with – pen. Run away to get married – elope. A holiday aboard a large ship – cruise. And the answer is: Penélope Cruz.
18. Rummaging in a charity shop.
19. Finding supermarket yellow sticker bargains.
20. Being able to do an online grocery shopping. (Makes life so much easier, but I do miss the yellow sticker bargains.
21. Heat Holders socks. (They are amazing if you suffer from cold feet.)
22. Watching funny animal videos on YouTube.
23. Music.
24. Hearing babies laugh. Sometimes, I find YouTube clips of laughing babies. You should watch some – I guarantee you will be laughing too.
25. The Sound of Music. Every time it’s on television, I watch it. (And, yes, I sing along.)
26. Watching any movie or series that manages to hold my attention until the end.
27. Watching reruns of Friends or Only Fools and Horses.
28. Discovering that something is gluten-free. Everyone with coeliac disease will recognise that feeling. If you ever spot someone doing a happy-dance in Tesco, it’s probably a coeliac who’s picked up a bar of chocolate and found no gluten in the ingredient list.
29. Finding gluten-free bread that tastes good. There are a few, thankfully.
30. Hubby’s homemade gluten-free square sausages and venison burgers.
31. Finding one last square of chocolate when I thought I had already finished the whole bar.
32. Wispa gold bars.
33. Having something really nice for dinner, knowing that there are enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
34. Eating those leftovers.
35. Homemade soup. I love any kind of homemade soup. It’s warm and it’s comforting.
36. Treacle pancakes. I have occasionally made them, and the smell reminds me of my Mum as she often made them when she knew I was visiting.
37. Homemade rice pudding.
38. My homemade sausage casserole. Delicious comfort food.
39. Melted marshmallows.
40. The smell of onions frying.
41. Cinnamon.
42. The smell of fresh ripe strawberries. (Sometimes the taste doesn’t live up to the smell.)
43. Waking up without a headache. I used to suffer from chronic migraines and rarely woke up without one. Thankfully, those days are less frequent now and I appreciate it so much. That’s really something to smile about.
44. Seeing a wee bit of sunlight coming through a chink in the curtains when I wake up.
45. Hearing birds singing early in the morning. I know some people hate being woken up by their singing but I love it.
46. Watching and listening to the river near my house. I find it hypnotic.
    
47. While I’m still half asleep, I hear Ian say, “Where’s Mum” and Kip immediately jumps up to say good morning. Nobody could wake up in a bad mood with a Kip in the house.
48. Spring sunshine. After a long dark winter, that spring sunshine is much sought after. There’s normally a chill in the air but the sunshine cheers me up.
49. Warm sunny days. In Scotland, we don’t get those too often, so when we do, I like to make the most of them. I’m normally very peely-wally, as we say in Scotland, so it’s nice to get a wee bit of colour in my face.
50. Autumn colours.
51. Snow. I hardly ever step foot outside when it snows, but everything does look so nice when there’s a covering of snow.
52. Watching clouds.
53. Hearing wind, rain or hail while sitting inside knowing that I don’t need to go out.
54. Rainbows. Who doesn’t like seeing a rainbow?
55. Snowdrops and daffodils. They are so resilient – those bulbs survive harsh winters, then manage to poke through the solid ground in the Spring. They remind me that I can be resilient too.
56. Trees in bud ready to burst into life after the winter.
57. Finding tiny pieces of sky between leaves on heavily laden trees in the summer.
58. Watching long grass blowing in the wind.
59. Sunsets and sunrises.
60. Looking at stars on a dark night. They fascinate me. The longer you look, the more you see.
61. Insects. The nice ones like butterflies, ladybirds and bumble bees. (I’m not so keen on the spiders, flies and midges.)
62. Seeing the housemartins and swallows arriving from South Africa every May to set up their summer residence at my house.
63. Listening to those housemartins chattering during the day.
64. Hearing the cuckoo that lives in the trees on the farm and answering it. If you haven’t heard a cuckoo, they really do say, “Cuckoo, Cuckoo,” repeatedly.
65. Watching lambs chasing each other on the hills.
66. Blowing dandelion clocks and watch them blow in the breeze. When I was young, we called them fairies.
67. Baking. I’m never sure whether I love to bake or just love to eat the baking. However, I can only bake on a really good day and even then, I need help from hubby. But, the results definitely make my day better.
68. Making shortbread. My Gran taught me how to make it when I was young.
69. Looking through old photos because they stir so many memories.
70. Online games – word games, jigsaws, puzzles…anything really. They act as a distraction and pass some time.
71. When Kip shakes her head and her hair stands on end making her look like Rod Stewart. Can you see the resemblance?
    
72. A smile from a stranger.
73. Kindness. In any form, whether I see it first-hand or read or hear about it, it makes me smile. If only there was more kindness in the world.
74. The smell of laundry after it’s been dried outside.
75. New brushed cotton sheets and pillowcases. They’re so thick and soft but never feel the same after they’ve been washed.
76. Laughter. Sometimes I think my husband’s sole purpose in life is to make me laugh.
77. Belly breathing. It calms and relaxes me.
78. My paintings. I haven’t painted in such a long time, but they give me hope that I might get back to it one day. They remind me that I was able to learn something new and, as I learned, I also learned to believe in myself. You can read more about my paintings and my art class here.
79. Hearing Kip talk. Yes, seriously, she talks. She nuzzles into our necks and talks. I swear she says Mu-um and I wuv you.
80. Someone listening to me.
81. Someone sharing their news with me.
82. A stone that came from Mull. We visited there over thirty years ago. As we were waiting for the ferry, Ian noticed a perfectly round stone and gave it to me. I still have it.
83. My heart-shaped stone. Ian found that in the garden of our first house together. It moved with us.
84. My electric blanket. I only bought one last year due to prices rising for absolutely everything. Now, I don’t know how I coped without it.
85. Soft fleece blankets to wrap up in during the winter.
86. Watching logs burning on the stove.
87. Being able to wear comfy clothes all the time.
88. Skechers. My feet love Skechers.
89. Smoothies. I struggle to eat the recommended five fruits and vegetables a day. But put them into a smoothie, no problem.
90. Ticking off all the boxes on my to-do list. (That doesn’t happen very often 😂)
91. Those times when I manage to go for a short walk. My Walkstool has helped me with that.
92. Catching sight of wildlife around my house like partridges, pheasants, rabbits, hares, foxes and deer.
    
93. Finding money in a bag that I haven’t used for a while.
94. Memories of trips to the seaside and countryside when I was young.
95. Memories of time with family, aunts, uncles and cousins on those trips.
96. Remembering my first dog. We rescued Sam from a cat and dog home when I was about 10. We didn’t have him for long but he cured my fear of dogs.
97. Memories of our second dog, Patch. He was a black and white cocker spaniel – a lovable, adorable dog.
98. And memories of all the pets we’ve had since we got married. Springer spaniels, Pippa and Bramble, a cat called Mima, and Red, our fox-red labrador. Red was our ‘boy’ and we missed him so much after he died that we couldn’t face getting another dog. Eventually, Kip came along and helped to fill the huge void that Red had left.
99. Kip snuggling up really close when she wants to go to sleep. (I call her my velcro dog.)
100. Looking at Kip while she sleeps. Such a little peaceful face that looks like butter wouldn’t melt. Hmm…looks are deceiving sometimes.

What Things Make Your Day Better?

So those are my 100 small things, and, honestly, they make a big difference in my life, especially on those difficult days. They’re reminders that joy doesn’t always come from big, dramatic changes — it comes from noticing and appreciating the small things that brighten each day.

What about you? What small things make your day better?

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Thank you so much for reading.

If this post resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
And feel free to share it with your friends or support groups.
Take care,
Liz.

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