A happiness project is an approach to changing your life. First is the preparation stage, when you identify what brings you joy and satisfaction and engagement, and also what brings you guilt, anger, boredom and remorse. Second is the making of resolutions, when you identify the concrete actions that will boost your happiness. Then comes the interesting part; keeping the resolutions.
One day I’ll stop biting my nails, wearing jeans and frumpy tops, eating junk food. I’ll call my friends more often, remember their birthdays, and visit family. I’ll take a photography class, learn about nutrition and computers. I’ll visit museums and attend the opera, I’ll read the classics. I’ll throw away all the televisions and monitor the kid’s music. I’ll take daily walks and keep a journal. I’ll pray often and attend church more regularly. I’ll enjoy daily interruptions, constant obstacles. I’ll spend quality time with each kid individually. I’ll live in my marriage and listen more mindfully to my husband. I’ll control my finances and let the house get dirty once in a while. I’ll bake more and plant a garden. I will live, laugh, love.
I have a great husband, good Godly kids, a home to house my family and friends, finances that allow us to be generous, a cabin to escape to, a body that still functions, lots of freedom and a relationship with Christ.
However, have too high expectations of my house being clean always, I have a short temper, I yell easily, I get frustrated with my husband’s lack of involvement with the kids, I feel like an outcast amongst school parents, I’m impatient with people who don’t do their job correctly, I’m sad my family lives so far away, I’m insecure about how I am raising my kids, I’m bored sometimes because I’m not busy and I’m guilt-ridden about things I’ve done in the past. I don’t spend enough time praying or talking to God, I don’t attend church weekly and I’ve allowed my kids to nurture their own Godly path. I’m too lazy to take medication or exercise. I wish my husband and I would spend more time alone together and talk. I wish my husband would become the spiritual leader of our home.
I have everything that I could possibly want so that I may be happy. But I get bogged down in petty complaints and passing crises, weary of struggling with my own nature. I too often fail to comprehend the splendor of the life I have. How fortunate I am. I don’t want to take another day for granted. How can I make myself feel grateful for my ordinary life, my mundane days, and my repetitious years? I will start my daily gratitude journal again. I will read The Happiness Project http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Project-Morning-Aristotle-Generally/dp/006158326X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323187968&sr=8-1 and gleam as much information from it as possible that will lead me to a happier life. I will spend from now until January 1st reading the beginning of this book and taking notes. Starting in January I’ll start making concrete changes in my life in order to improve the quality of my daily living. I will find a method to conquer my particular faults and limitations. I’ll find a way to use my talents and abilities so I can bring joy to myself, my family and others. I will take myself less seriously and laugh at dumb jokes. I will be less of a perfectionist, I’ll try not to be anal.
I want to find happiness under my own roof. For far too long I expected my happiness to come from working, being with friends or children, working on my crafts, or organizing projects. I quit my job a few years back and life has changed. I want to be happy staying at home. I’m a 46 year old woman, Hispanic, married, 4 kids, 2 dogs, 2 houses, financially stable, Christian, unemployed, housewife, living with a degenerative disease. I want to naturally a happy person. I want my face to exude a look of pleasure.
Benjamin Franklin wanted to cultivate thirteen virtues – temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility. He devised a chart and scored himself daily. He relied on measurable actions, structured accountability, and a positive reinforcement. These are not particular goals of mine, though they are grand. I need to find the areas in my life that need changing, and are changeable, and I am willing to change.
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