North Carolina’s happiest startup, Happy Fix® (www.happyfix.com) has launched a new Meetup Group to share resources and information on living positively in the Triangle region of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.

Triangle Happy Fix (www.meetup.com/Triangle-Happy-Fix) has gained over three dozen members since joining the world's largest network of local groups in late January.

“We were really drawn to Meetup’s mission of revitalizing local communities by organizing people interested in changing their world and making a difference,” said Stacy Menzies, Happy Fix president and organizer of Triangle Happy Fix, adding, “It fits well with our own mission of inspiring people to celebrate what’s great and use positive thinking to improve their lives.”

Triangle Happy Fix is in the process of scheduling the first in a regular series of ongoing events where like-minded residents, businesses, innovators and entrepreneurs, community groups and nonprofits, and local government officials can gather to meet one another, listen to invited speakers, and share how to overcome challenges. It is open to new members who live and work in and around the greater Triangle area.

The events will be designed to connect people, provide inspiring speakers, and help attendees help each other live more positive lives. Each meeting will have a welcome period where attendees can get spend a little while getting to know one another, with time allotted for a focus on an invited guest who may talk about overcoming obstacles or provide attendees with “Happy Hacks” to help them get everything they can out of life. The last part of the meeting will be sharing things and ideas that make attendees happy, providing motivation for members to continue to celebrate what’s great in their lives until the next meeting.

The Meetup Group is one of the initiatives spurred on by a successful Kickstarter campaign in the Fall of 2014. Happy Fix raised $1,805 of its original $1,750 goal to share the company’s mission with a wider audience through its products, blog, social media, and events.

“During our Kickstarter campaign we talked about jump-starting the Happy Fix concept and reaching more people to bring together like-minded individuals, who we call Happbassadors, interested in the concept of positive living to build a groundswell of positivity,” Menzies explained.

“Our goal is to start here at home in the Triangle and eventually take the concept nationwide,” she added.

A nationally board certified teacher, Menzies will be organizing and leading the Triangle Happy Fix Meetup Group which is looking to hold its first meeting in early March. She is currently researching and visiting potential meeting locations throughout the Triangle to find a venue for the group while soliciting input from members. Triangle Happy Fix is supported by a LinkedIn group of the same name to further generate networking opportunities between members.

Menzies started Happy Fix in 2014 as a way to remind individuals that when something goes wrong, it is within their power to greet negative situations with a positive reaction. At worst, an individual can neutralize the negativity, and in most cases change the course or his or her entire day, paving the way toward achieving personal and professional goals. Researching the concept of happiness, she discovered studies at the National Institutes of Health, Harvard University, and the Mayo Clinic correlating happiness with better health, with data showing that positive mood and optimism are linked to better health and well-being.

According to Menzies, the more people she meets and shares how her approach has helped shape her life, the more she finds people wanting to do the same thing but unable to do so because of emotions like guilt and fear.

“While we acknowledge that there are situations beyond our control, it is our reaction to those events and situations that dictates the outcomes. It truly is okay to be happy, but you have to make that choice,” she said.

Based in Apex, North Carolina, Happy Fix is a positive lifestyle brand that inspires people to celebrate what's great in their lives, with apparel and accessories serving as a constant reminder for people that happiness is a choice that’s always within reach.

Happy feels good at www.HappyFix.com.