Thursday, August 4, 2011

A little happier

I checked out "The Happiness Project" from the library this week. Not that I'm a huge fan of the self-help section in general--I think too many people are looking for someone else to tell them how to live their lives (newsflash--it's already been done, and it's called the Bible)--however, I do occasionally enjoy what's been called "stunt non-fiction"--someone's journey of self-discovery (see also: Eat, Pray, Love), and I like the way this one is written. Much more realistic than trekking across the globe for a year.

Anyways, the author split her year into month-long blocks working on specific areas of her life, just small changes right where she was at. January=Boosting Energy. Some of the things in this chapter I already do well--going to sleep earlier, (occasionally) exercising. Some things I do NOT do well--among them the "toss, restore, organize" item, and "tackle a nagging task." I get SUPER lazy and leave things where they fall, and then I can't ever get motivated to check simple things off the list. I use the excuse of working 80 hours a week, but still, even without reading this chapter, I knew that this tendency makes me less happy than I could be. So now I became motivated to do those things that I have been meaning to do FOR. EVER. Today I fixed my consecration bracelet, bought a new electric toothbrush, and threw out a bunch of crap that had to go--my old palm pilot (which was actually Michelle's old palm pilot that I borrowed cause mine broke, but never figured out how to use...3 years ago!), two old retreat candles, a quarter of a bottle of wine that was opened last year, several toys with the tags still on, and most importantly, I emptied my Honeydukes candy jar of the hard candy I don't like so I can fill it with stuff I do like (WHY has this taken me 10 months to do???).

I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was totally satisfying, if not directly happiness-inducing.

***Side note: if you want the fast road to happiness, I highly recommend Lidia's pasta trio and the nutella dessert with coffee--YUM!

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