Alright so today I was making this little gratitude list, right? Felt like I needed some extra sunshine in my brain. Everything kinda started feeling heavy after lunch – you know those days? Weather sucked, news sucked, my coffee got cold way too fast. Figured I’d dig up some genuinely happy words. Just for myself, kinda like mental vitamins. And for some weird reason, I decided words starting with ‘w’ sounded fun. Where that came from? No clue.
Where I Started This Whole Thing
Grabbed my actual paper dictionary off the shelf first. Yeah, the dusty one. Flipped to the ‘W’ section. Bad move. Immediately slammed into “war,” “woe,” “waste,” “weak.” Not exactly the uplifting vibes I was hunting for. Felt like the dictionary was mocking me. Closed that sucker real quick. Back to the digital age it was.
Hopped onto my usual search thingy. Typed in exactly what you’d expect: “positive words that start with w”. Boom. Tons of lists pop up. Good start. Scrolled past the obvious ones everyone throws out instantly, like “win” or “wealth.” Needed more than just surface stuff. Started scanning lists, keeping an eye out for words that actually made me go, “Oh yeah, that feels nice.”
The Words That Actually Made Me Smile
Didn’t just skim; I actually read the meanings again, even if I knew ’em. Wanted the good feelings to sink in. Here’s what clicked for me today:
- Warm: Not just hot chocolate warm. Like, someone smiles at you genuinely? That warmth.
- Wholehearted: Giving something your absolute all? Zero holding back. Big yes.
- Wonder: Pure kid feeling. Looking up at stars, completely amazed. Kept it.
- Welcome: That sigh of relief walking into a friendly place. Exactly.
- Well-Being: More than “not sick.” Feeling stable, safe, content in yourself.
- Worthwhile: When you finish a tough chore and think, “Yeah, that mattered.”
- Wholesome: Saw this describing baking bread from scratch. Felt right.
Noticed a pattern. A ton of these ‘w’ words feel… solid? Grounded? They’re not the super flashy happy, like “ecstatic.” More like comfortable slippers for your mind. Warmth, welcome, well-being… they have a quiet kind of strength. Felt surprisingly sturdy. Good building blocks for feeling decent.
How I Decided To Actually Use This Stuff
Didn’t wanna just stare at a list and then forget it. Ended up sticking a mini-sticky note on my laptop screen. Wrote down my top three for today: Warm, Wholehearted, Wonder. Tiny reminders to maybe look for those feelings later: feel the warmth in my coffee mug, throw myself wholeheartedly into writing one paragraph even if I feel lazy, or just wonder for a second at a damn pigeon doing its thing outside.
It was kinda simple, but honestly, just hunting for those little sparkly words shifted my crappy afternoon mood. Reminded me there are quiet little pockets of nice things out there. Especially liked the solid, earthy feel a lot of these ‘w’ words have. Not fireworks, maybe, but more like a warm, steady campfire. Made me realize how often these “smaller” words carry bigger feelings than we give ’em credit for. They connect people, make places feel safe, describe feeling content. Pretty cool for one little letter.