The end of my Happiness Project

Last December, I read a book called “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. I thought it was a book about the things she loved doing. Not so. It was about her setting up monthly resolutions for herself. As each month passed, it was her desire to continue with the previous month’s resolution for the remainder of the year.

I decided that I wanted to do the same for 2015. 

My number one goal was to start a blog. I was finally ready to commit to writing on a weekly basis. Eighty-two blog posts later, I’m still writing.

 One of my January resolutions was to spend more time in prayer. No longer do I just pray when I need something. I now find myself praying whenever I can and just giving God thanks for the small things in life.

Another resolution I had made was to avoid candy for the entire year (click here to read more about my "Candy Addiction"). That didn’t last very long. I have improved though. I no longer head to Bulk Barn every day for a candy fix. Once my Princess arrives, I plan on trying again.

It has always been my dream to start a Book Club. Unfortunately the Ladies and I only got together twice this year. I hope we can start again in the near future.

Attending Boxing Boot Camp was another resolution I made. I’m definitely looking forward to attending again next Spring.

On the list of things that I didn’t accomplish was learning how to sew and knit, finishing “Friends”, learning how to play chess, finishing my novel and signing up for belly dancing classes.

After twelve months of doing this project, I’m extremely proud of myself for sticking with it. 

Am I happier for doing this? Absolutely! Even though I didn’t accomplish everything on my list, I still found myself doing things that I wouldn’t have normally done if I had just created a bucket list. 

I do plan on continuing with this project next year but on a smaller scale. 

My main resolution for 2016 will be enjoying life with my Princess.

What are some of your 2015 accomplishments?

Feel free to share this post on your favourite Social Media Networks.

When you get a chance, please visit my friend Tyrone’s blog. His posts are insightful and very thought provoking. See his blog here.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :) 

My Happiness Project: Communication

My Happiness Project continues.

For the month of March, my resolution was Organization: to keep all areas of my house tidy at all times – especially my kitchen. I think I did a pretty good job in maintaining a clean home last month.

I also challenged myself to follow a weekly schedule. That was pretty much a hit and miss. Some days were better than others.

I created a meal plan for the entire month. I bought groceries and spent a lot of time cooking. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Health and fitness wise, I completed another month of the 30 Day Squat Challenge. I survived my first month of Boxing Boot Camp. I gained some arm strength after completing the 30 Day Arm Challenge. I’m hoping to ditch P90X by mid month and head outdoors to jog, walk and roller blade.

This month I’ll be focusing on my core muscles. After taking an extensive break, I’ll be signing up for Belly Dancing classes again. I’m also going to do the 30 Day Abs Challenge.

For the month of April, my resolution is Communication: to talk more and text less.

I remember the days when I would spend endless hours on the phone with my friends. Then I got a cell phone. Conversations were replaced with texting.

Two years ago, I called my cell phone provider and asked them to add unlimited texting to my plan. Last month I received 611 text messages and sent 464. Absolutely ridiculous! My goal is to cut those numbers in half.

To my friends -  if you text me, then you obviously have time to talk to me. Get ready for a phone call. Let’s return to the good old days – even if it’s only for a month.

I’m also going to set aside one evening a week to call family and friends.

I get a lot of complaints that I don’t return phone messages, texts or emails in a timely manner. Honestly, sometimes it gets so overwhelming that I tend to shut down. I’m going to make an effort to return all messages within 24 hours. I think that’s fair.

For the past few years, I’ve been meaning to write a Will. Whenever I think of Wills, I tend to associate them with elderly people. With more young people dying today, we’ve got to protect our families and assets. This month, I’ll be meeting with my Primerica Representative to create my own Will.

What resolutions have you made for this month?

Feel free to share this post on your favourite Social Media Networks.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)

My Happiness Project

Like most, at the end of every year I create a bucket list – a list of things I would like to accomplish the following year. Every June I review my list and realize that I’m nowhere near accomplishing my long list of goals. By the end of the year, I'm lucky if I'm able to cross off 5 items. I always told myself that there was always “next year”.

Last month, I came across “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin – a book about her twelve month resolution plan to happiness. Every month she made new resolutions with the hopes of keeping them for the entire year. I thought this was a pretty realistic way of accomplishing my goals so I decided that as of January 1^st, I was going to start my own happiness project.

For the month of January, my focus is on Spirituality – to spend more time with God through prayer, daily Bible reading and scripture memorization.

One of my goals has always been to start a blog.  It’s something I’ve wanted to do but didn’t have the time nor was I ready to commit. Now I’m ready. I finally turned my dream into a reality.

Special thanks to my sister, Winter, who inspired me to start blogging.

Will I be happier by the end of 2015? Who knows. Every year I like to try something new and this year it happens to be “The Happiness Project” – tackling my dreams and goals one month at a time.

What resolutions have you made this year?

What steps will you take to accomplish them? 
    

Visit on Thursday for "My Candy Addiction".

Feel free to share this post on your favourite Social Media Networks.

Thanks for reading and keep smiling :)