Have you ever caught a glimpse of someone laughing and found that you were smiling yourself? Happiness is surprisingly easy to catch and spread. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the happiness you infuse into the world around you and give to others lives longer and stronger than contagious sadness.

The reasons to spread happiness are more powerful than you might think. A recent study showed that happiness isn’t just a bubble made for one: when participants reported being happy, their friends, friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends became happier as well. That’s a pretty big bubble.

So, once you’ve found it, how can you spread happiness?

10 Ways to Spread Happiness

1. Spend time with people

The people in your life will pick up on your joy using the same empathy that’s innate in you and nudges you to ask what’s wrong after analyzing small, barely perceptible changes in someone’s facial features. If you feel good, the people around you won’t be able to keep themselves from tapping their feet to the beat of your joy.

2. Hold onto your joy and don’t let go

If you’re going to spread happiness to the people with whom you spend your time, hold onto your joy and don’t let go. If you’re committed to staying happy even when the people around you are not, your happiness will eventually take root and grow. Remember—happiness is more contagious than the blues.

3. Assume that people will like you

You’ve probably been in a social situation at least once where you felt like you didn’t fit in; maybe you over-analyzed how someone looked at you or spent too much time thinking about what you should say. Chances are good that you were more concerned with your anxieties than with what was actually going on around you. If you like who you are and think others will too, you’ll likely bring some much-needed life to the party.

4. Do something small

When you’re happy, it’s easier to remember and feel motivated to do small acts of kindness for your friends and family. Spontaneous lunch visits or random phone calls to the people who matter most can make all the difference when it comes to turning a bad day good.

5. Express gratitude

Your partner or children might already know you care about them, but saying it aloud doesn’t hurt. When something someone did made you feel grateful, mention it. Feeling noticed and appreciated is important when it comes to feeling happy about the people in your life.

6. Replace criticism with encouragement

Before offering even a gentle criticism, ask yourself if it’s constructive. Your friends and family are probably receiving little criticisms throughout the day from their employers or from themselves; an encouraging word can feel like water in a desert.

7. Listen

Make a point of sitting down and really seeing the people in your life. Even people who seem like they’re doing fine might desperately need a sounding board. Listening to people talk about what’s going well in their lives can spread happiness too.

8. Crack a joke or tell a funny story

Laughter might be the most immediately gratifying way to spread some joy. The surprise of laughter can make a bad mood dissipate in an instant and make a great mood even better.

9. Be kind to yourself

If the people around you pick up on the fact that you’re not beating yourself up over small missteps and that you feel good about yourself, they just might alleviate some of the pressure they’re placing on themselves as well.

10. Compliment others

You’ve likely savored an unexpected compliment from a friend or coworker. If you’re going through a rough patch, finding little moments of self-confidence in the words of others can carry you a long way.