The Happiness Project

[fabrisse]

One of my pre-New Year's purchases was the Kindle Edition of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Her reason for undertaking it was that she had a good life, but felt she wasn't appreciating it enough. She quite frankly says that she was afraid she'd get to be old, look back at this time in her life, and wonder why she didn't recognize the happiness she had.

I like that she's very clear about depression and unhappiness being separate things. One of the greatest pieces of information that ever came to me from my singing teacher was that feeling sad didn't mean I was depressed. Learning to tell things apart is huge.

Since tomorrow's a new month, I'm starting my own little happiness project without having finished the book. I know the aims for any given month need to be measurable. Like Ms Rubin, my first month is dedicated to feeling more energetic. My four goals for this month are:

Go to bed by 11:00 p.m. Sunday-Thursday nights.

Swim (at least) one evening a week. There's a pool that's free to DC residents and doesn't take me out of my way on my daily walk. I love to swim, so why aren't I? If after this month, I find I'm not enjoying it, fine.

Write my three things that made me happy journal again. I enjoyed it while I was doing it, and then I just faded away from it.

Do one frivolous thing a week. I haven't been to a museum in over a month. Meeting contradictacat at one doesn't count. I love doing it, but I'm not. If I get in the habit again, I'll bet when the summer concerts come, I'll go to some.

Comments

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

am on mobile. forgive lwrcase and shorthand. and typos. about depression not being the same as happiness, I think that goes both ways. not only does feeling unhappy not equal depression, but being depressed does not, ime, equal unhappiness. for example, when I was depressed, there were times when I was a happy person but still suffering from depression. like I still understood myself as happy, but the depression was still in charge. I hope i'm making sense. it is a subtle but important difference, imo. I remember being really pissed off when someone mistook my depression for unhappiness. they said something like, "you are a very unhappy person," and I was madbecause I wasn't unhappy, which was somehow worseb in my mind, but being run by the illness if depression. make any sense?

also, yay for this project!

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Other than the typos, it makes perfect sense. ;-)

I had moments of giddiness, delight, and joy while I was on anti-depressants and depressed (not always overlapping sets), it didn't change the fundamentals of my brain chemistry.

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

I assume this free pool is an indoor one, because I can think of one reason you may not want to do that just yet. *looks outside* Yeah, one good reason. ;-)

Go you on happiness project!

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Yes. Indoor. Very indoor. *G*

[eanja]

I'm also trying to make a point of getting to bed earlier for while, though I haven't been doing as well as I'd liked. It finally dawned on me that possibly a big part of the reason I've been having so much trouble focusing and feel like I'm just never getting anything done is that I'm just tireder and hence stupider than I realize.

I am also really hoping to get to the gym more, but am waiting to see how I do w/ the getting to bed part since I'd usually get up earlier to go to the gym before work.

I do usually try to be appreciative, but I have been feeling like I'm to kind of rushed and fuzzy to really be using my days wisely. So maybe I'll put that book on my reading list as well.

And now that I'm done talking about me-good luck w/ your project!

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought about adding weight training to the list and lots of other things, but I opted for swimming one night a week because I miss it. If getting to bed earlier gives me more energy, then the weight training can come next month or later in the month.

Good luck to you, too.

[eanja]

Especially this time of year, I tend to want to start too fix too many things all at once, and need to remind myself to try to actually get one thing working rather than not keeping up w/ multiple things.

At the moment I'm having a hard time not getting behind at work- I think that w/ the crazy work crunch through the beginning of this month, and then Arisia, I just got so far behind that's it's actually effecting my ability to think clearly. So when I feel like I'm rested and productive, then I can worry about the gym. Though I'm going to make a point to try to get out and walk at lunch every day at least. Between weather and business, I haven't been, but I think even if it's only a 15 minute stroll around the parking lot, it really helps.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

My doctor in Germany said that 20 minutes at midday out of doors -- no matter the weather -- in the winter could do more to balance a person than just about anything else. So, yeah, go for it. *G*

[daylyn.livejournal.com]

You know, this is a fabulous idea. I'm glad to hear that your DC pool is indoors, though. ;-)

You know, I think I'm going to go to a water aerobics class this week (and head back to my yoga class... and just start going back to the gym in general). I had been doing really well for a while and then just stopped going a few months ago. I'm concentrating so much on work now that I'm falling apart everywhere else. So not good...

Thanks for the inspiration and enjoy your happiness goals this month.

[fabrisse.livejournal.com]

I made it to bed by 11:30 last night -- half an hour later than intended, but about an hour earlier than average. I'm counting it as a win.

Let me know how yoga and water aerobics go.