2025 “Boost Your Happiness” Monthly Haiku Challenge

2025 “Boost Your Happiness” Monthly Haiku Challenge

Happy Poetry Month, April is here and we launching this Boost your Happiness Challenge. Are you looking for a simple yet powerful way to cultivate more joy in your life? We’re excited to launch our year-long “Boost Your Happiness” Haiku Challenge! Each month for the rest of 2025, we invite you to create one haiku focused on something that brings you happiness.

What Is This Challenge?

Inspired by research showing that both poetry and gratitude practices improve well-being, this challenge asks you to:

• Create one haiku per month about something that boosts your happiness

• Follow the traditional 5-7-5 syllable pattern (5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, 5 in the third)

• Share your creation in the comments section

• Connect with other participants through their haikus

Why Haiku?

Haiku is the perfect format for this challenge because:

• Its brevity makes it accessible even for busy schedules

• The syllable constraints create a mindful practice

• The traditional focus on nature and seasons connects us to the world around us

• The simplicity allows us to distill complex feelings into clear moments

The Science Behind It

According to recent research from Greater Good Magazine, engaging with poetry activates our brain’s pleasure centers in unique ways, improving mental health and well-being. When we combine poetry with focusing on sources of happiness, we’re essentially giving our brains a double dose of positivity!

How It Works

• Monthly Prompt: On the first of each month, we’ll post a reminder for that month’s happiness haiku.

• Create Your Haiku: Reflect on something that brought you joy that month. It could be a person, place, experience, object, or simply a moment.

• Follow the Format: Write your haiku in three lines with the 5-7-5 syllable pattern.

• Share and Connect: Post your haiku in the comments and engage with others’ contributions.

Monthly Themes 

While you’re free to write about any happiness source each month, here are optional monthly themes if you’d like some inspiration:

• April: Spring renewal

• May: Nature’s gifts

• June: Connection

• July: Simple pleasures

• August: Adventure

• September: Learning

• October: Comfort

• November: Gratitude

• December: Celebration

Join Us!

This challenge begins today! Drop your first happiness haiku in the comments below.

By the end of 2025, you’ll have created a beautiful collection of twelve haikus tracking your year through moments of joy. Even better, the practice of regularly noticing and articulating what brings you happiness can have lasting positive effects on your wellbeing.

No special poetry experience needed—just a willingness to pause, notice, and capture moments of happiness in 17 syllables.

Are you in?

Will you be joining our year-long happiness haiku challenge? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to share your first poem!

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Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) is the founder of EveryWriter and a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry. With degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology, and Education, Richard has dedicated two decades to teaching writing and literature while championing emerging voices through EveryWriter's platform. His work focuses on making literary analysis accessible to readers at all levels while preserving the rich heritage of American literature. Connect with Richard on Twitter  Bluesky Facebook or explore opportunities to share your own work on ourSubmissions page. For monthly insights on writing and publishing, subscribe to our Newsletter.

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