Getting Happy, One Small Step at a Time

This photo of my son, taken almost ten years ago with our old sweet dog, gives me the warm fuzzies.

Another new year…already!  Did 2016 even happened?  Maybe I just slept through it.  No.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t get that much rest…

It’s that time of year we resolve to make positive changes in our lives, or better yet, to not resolve as the former seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Whatever it is we have made a resolution to do or become just doesn’t come to fruition.  That’s why last year I simply decided to make “the happiness project” a goal, not a big “R.”

Last January I posted “The Happiness Project”  where I described my goal, through daily reflection and writing, to become a happier, more authentic and content person.  Each day I recorded something that made me happy.  It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, as 2016 threw our family many curveballs.  Some days I had to dig for a happy moment:

9-2-16–It was a really case of the (homeschool) Fridays. I just walked away…I hoped the kids learned that misbehavior makes for “late release.” Glad I handled it the way I did, just hope it had some impact.

Others days, I could have written a short, blissful essay:

12-29-16: Build-A-Bear and my kids happy faces. Panera for lunch. I had the chance to sit and chat with my uncle, who was recovering from knee surgery. We had a wonderful talk. So happy to get to connect like we never had before.

Isn’t that how life goes?  It’s up, and it’s down.  No surprises there.  They don’t call it the silver lining for nothing, that’s for sure.  And it was that search for the silver lining, the reflection on cloudy days that made this project so gratifying.  There’s something to be grateful for in each of the Earth’s rotations.  And the realization that tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start, was not only reassuring,

It made me happy.

And at risk of  sounding like a broken record, it really is the little things.  It’s easy to think this and say so, but it really is true.  For example:

1-26-16:  After school today–peeling carrots with W while D and her friend found Taylor Swift music to play on the Echo. We peeled and jammed.

As I skimmed my happiness project, nothing made me smile more than this entry.  That moment was really fun and spontaneous.

My goal was never to see how many pages I could fill with happiness, just that I found something uplifting in each day.  So I was shocked when I finished December 31st to find I had written not only 22 pages of bliss, but 9,109 words.

9,109 words

You can’t really put a number on happiness and even though 9,109 is large value, here’s what really hit me:  I realized there had to be so much more good in 2016 than that number symbolizes.  How many “little things” did I overlook?  How much did I take for granted?  I’ll never know for sure.  But there was more, I’m sure of it.  And that’s why I love the final entry of 2016:

12-31-16: D and I enjoyed using the machines at the Y. I love sharing a workout with her! New Year’s Eve and a little party at my parents.

The everyday: exercise.   Something cherished:  time with my daughter.  And tradition:  an end-of-year party with family.  There were many aspects of happy in that day, representative of the many ways to have a full and wonderful life.

May this year be full of outright joy, quiet bliss, and silver linings.  Happy New Year.