Thursday, September 13, 2007

happiness project

you may have noticed the link i have to to the happiness project on this page. this is one of my favorite blogs. grethen rubin has devoted significant time and effort to studying happiness- how to find it and how to maintain it- what works and what doesn't- what the research shows and what her own personal experiences are. i always find her posts to be pertinent to my life and my surroundings. recently she has put the idea out there that everyone should have their own happiness project. since reading that I have been contemplating this idea....why shouldn't i devote time to research what makes me happy, why it is important, and how to maintain happiness? i thought about this a lot while i was away last week but took no action. i was feeling paralyzed by the thought of having to come up with a set of commandments.
when i originally started to think about my guiding principles for happiness...nothing came immediately to mind. actually, that didn't make me happy at all. it bummed me out. was i so removed from myself that i didn't know what made me happy?
on the way to work on tuesday, i was stuck in a long line of traffic, moving at a painfully slow pace. suddenly, as happens often while sitting in the car, i was hit by a handful of ideas that would be become my own guiding principles (or commandments) for happiness. i whipped out my new sidekick and jotted down some notes so i wouldn't forget.
my commandments:
  • breathe
  • enjoy the process
  • do it anyway
  • let go
  • notice and encourage the things you love
  • take chances
  • be honest and kind
  • learn and apply that knowledge

gretchen has 12- i came up with 8- if i think of more that suit me i will add them as i go. i look forward to studying the idea of my own personal happiness project.

3 comments:

hows yr edge said...

What about "having fun safely?" No love?

Melissa said...

having fun safely is a way of life...I don't even have to think about that one.

renée said...

i like "do it anyway"! i'm excited to check out this website. leaving my job made me pretty happy, even if i'm totally freaked out.