TOM UTLEY: Of all life's small wins, nothing beats hearing those rarest of words: Yes, darling, you were right and I was wrong!
At a time when the news from home and abroad gets bleaker by the day, we've never been more in need of those everyday pleasures and minor triumphs that bring moments of happiness into our lives.
You know the sort of thing: a smile from an attractive stranger; arriving at the bus stop just as your bus is drawing up; or finding a vacant parking space straight away.
Now it appears that these little things happen more often than a grumpy old curmudgeon like me may have realised.
On average, it seems, we experience no fewer than 15 of these 'small wins' every week, while the number among the 18-29 age-group is even higher, at 18.4 a week.
At least, so says a survey of 2,000 Britons, reported in yesterday's paper.
Commissioned by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, this finds that most of us (77 per cent) think it's the little things that make us smile, with a remarkable 27 per cent rating them more highly in the happiness stakes than even such life-changing events as having a baby or buying a house.
It then lists the top 25 small wins cited by interviewees, from 'finding cash in an old wallet or purse' in first position, mentioned by 62 per cent, to 'beating your personal best at the gym' (16 per cent), which comes in at number 25.
As for me, I haven't crossed the threshold of a gym since I left school more than half a century ago, and nor do I have any wish to.
But each to his own taste, of course. Indeed, we could all compile our own lists of the little things that make us happy.
You know the sort of thing: a smile from an attractive stranger; arriving at the bus stop just as your bus is drawing up; or finding a vacant parking space straight away, writes Tom Utley (Stock image)
Rejoice
For a start, mine would include many of those mentioned in the survey – and not only that smile from the stranger or the convenient bus and the parking space.
I'd also echo those who cited 'choosing the fastest queue at the supermarket' (32 per cent), 'getting paid more than you thought' (45 per cent) and 'finishing work before a two-week holiday' (28 per cent).
But to these I would add several that don't appear in the survey, including one or two I've only recently come to see as reasons for celebration.
For example, now that I've reached the age of 71, I count it a small win if I get through a whole night's sleep without having to drag myself out of bed for a pee.
I rejoice, too, on those rare occasions when I actually remember my password for a website, instead of having to go through the rigmarole of resetting it.
It's the same when I check my pockets, halfway down to the station, and find that, for once, I haven't forgotten my freedom pass, glasses or keys.
Even a few years ago, I wouldn't have considered any of these feats to be triumphs. But now I pat myself on the back whenever I achieve any one of them.
No wonder, perhaps, that more than three-quarters of those interviewed in the survey said that small wins become more important as we get older.
Now that I've reached the age of 71, I count it a small win if I get through a whole night's sleep without having to drag myself out of bed for a pee, writes Tom Utley (Stock image)
Fluke
Meanwhile, other small victories may ring a bell with some of my fellow long-married men of a certain age.
I count it a rare triumph, for example, when I buy Mrs U a present she actually likes and keeps, rather than taking it back to the shop to swap for something else.
It's a joyful relief, too, if I escape a ticking-off for loading the dishwasher in an unapproved manner, or arriving home slightly the worse for a convivial visit to the pub.
Then there's the extravagant praise I get from my other half if, by some fluke, I succeed in fixing a non-functioning appliance. That's in spite of the fact that all I ever do is turn things off and then on again (but please don't tell her that).
Best of all, of course, are those rarest of words I've heard only once in a blue moon since we married 45 years ago: 'Yes, darling, you were right and I was wrong.'
But you don't have to be over the hill, male or married to appreciate some of the other wins on my list.
Think of that wonderful occasion, if you've ever experienced it, of dialling the number of a government department or large corporation – and finding yourself put through to a living, breathing human being.
It's a joyful relief, too, if I escape a ticking-off for loading the dishwasher in an unapproved manner, or arriving home slightly the worse for a convivial visit to the pub, writes Tom Utley
It cheers me up, too, when motorists for whom I've pulled over to let them pass raise a courteous hand in gratitude, though this happens increasingly seldom in London these days.
Oh, and has your car ever been the first off the cross-Channel ferry – or your suitcase the first to appear on the airport carousel? I've had both experiences, a grand total of once each, and I can assure you there's no better start to a holiday.
Meanwhile, my fellow smokers will understand that moment of joy when we find a long-forgotten pack of cigarettes in an old coat pocket.
Then there are other, more guilty moments of pleasure.
Which of us, let's be honest, doesn't feel a thrill of schadenfreude when yet another politician gets his comeuppance after being caught fiddling his expenses, exaggerating his (or her) achievements on a CV, slagging off constituents on WhatsApp or thumping a voter in the street?
It would be nice, of course, if one or two in the present Cabinet were to be sacked for sheer stupidity and incompetence (I'd choose Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy and Lord Hermer just for starters). But we can all live in hope.
And how about the feeling we can get from letting a cold-calling scammer believe he's hit on a sucker – before giving him a robust piece of our minds?
But I haven't even mentioned many of the more obvious happy moments that life has to offer.
At the risk of sounding like Pollyanna, I'm thinking of the joy of receiving another funny video of the grandchildren or the appearance of cheap daffodils in the shops and snowdrops in the park to herald the spring.
Then there's the satisfaction of finishing a crossword in a respectable time, or the huge relief of finding that last, missing piece of the jigsaw under the table.
Cheerful
Nor can I end without mentioning the special pleasure I get from receiving letters or emails from kind readers, saying they've enjoyed something I've written.
When I started writing this piece, I feared I'd run out of reasons to be cheerful long before I could reach the bottom of the page.
Yet now I've hardly got going, and I've already run out of room.
I reckon this calls for a drink.
But you won't find me among that 21 per cent who say they celebrate moments of happiness with 'refreshing drinks on the sofa' – 'like an ice-cold Coca Cola Zero', says the press release accompanying this week's survey.
Grateful though I am to the people at Coke for supplying a cheerful topic for a column, I have to say their product is very far from my idea of a celebratory drink. Mine's a pint at the pub.
