Has anyone heard of or read The Happiness Project? It came out about 6 years ago and it's a book/guide that focuses on a different topic each month for a whole year. These topics are meant to help you polish up your life and make you more appreciative for what you have and to improve upon the areas that are lacking or bothersome so that they no longer influence you in a way that takes away from what is important and what essentially makes you happy.
I have attempted The Happiness Project three times over the past few years. Shamefully, I have never finished. The closest I got was to get to month six. I am not sure why I was never able to finish. It's actually a really good book, with lots of great ideas. What I did accomplish, did make me feel... happy! I wasn't planning on it, but now that I have written what I have so far on this post, it is making me think that perhaps I should attempt this project one more time. Fourth time is a charm!?!?!?! ;)
The reason why I wanted to dedicate this post to The Happiness Project is because one of the things that the author, Gretchen Rubin, did in the beginning of her book was to create a list of 12 "commandments." I really liked the idea of creating a list of thoughts that I truly believe. I also like the idea of sharing those thoughts out loud, whether verbally or in written form. It is then that they become alive. Below is my list of 12. I made this list over three years ago and to this day, I have not changed one. I love my list. It's me. And when I am able to truly follow them, I am... happy!
So here it is, my list...
1. Trust your gut.
2. Surround yourself with good people.
3. Let go.
4. Smile.
5. Live in and enjoy the moment.
6. You are stronger than you think you are.
7. Find beauty in the small.
8. Hold your head high, with confidence and grace.
9. There are always two sides.
10. Share your thoughts with tact and dignity.
11. Just be.
12. If you always choose the rational, you may miss out on the extraordinary.
I challenge you to create your own list. I'd love for you to share at least one of your own personal words of how you live in a way that makes you feel happy.
Follow your bliss.
ReplyDeleteIf you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.
-Joseph Campbell
I have never heard that poem. It's beautiful and attainable. Thank you for sharing!
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