Intentional Happiness
Day 2: your happiness list and journal
Welcome to day two of our 30-day journey of having intentionality when it
comes to being happy. By now you should have completed the first part of the
assignment which was just making a contract with yourself in terms of what you
are going to commit to. You may have committed to seven days. You may have you committed
to two weeks. You may have committed to the entire 30 days and all the
exercises. Whatever your commitment was, this second part is important to our
journey.
One of the things that we do to delay our own happiness is delaying doing
those things that make us happy. So, we are going to fight through that right
now. Today's exercise is amazingly simple. I want you to make a list of five
things that you can do to make yourself happy. And so, you are thinking “that's
an easy task”. Well, once I give you all the parameters, it may not be as easy
as you think. The first rule is that none of these things should have financial
barriers to them. I want you to make one list of five things that do not cost
you anything to do. I have been thinking about this, and over the course of our
lives we miss so many opportunities to do small things because we're waiting to
do the big things. It is all because we are waiting on something that's amazing,
or something that's grand, or something that just blows everyone out of the water,
including ourselves. While we are
waiting to do these large things, we neglect doing those ridiculously small
things that would serve jump start our happiness process. For that reason
alone, this list should be things that you can do almost immediately. And if
the list is really going to be powerful, these should be things that you could readily
turn force into habits. That means that if you did them repeatedly over 90 days,
they will become a part of who you are.
Please allow me to share with you, my list. The first thing that I plan to
do is listening to music that makes me happy. I am going to make a playlist of
music that really makes me happy. Psychologist have known about and documented
the effects of music on the human psyche. Do you remember when you had your
first break up and it seemed like every song that came on the radio was about
breaking up? Do you remember how sad the music made you? The music made you
remember the times you had shared and the “love” you had lost. It was as if the
DJ was sitting inside your head (and I say DJ because I didn't grow up with MP
threes or the ability to make playlists). Well, I want you to think about songs
that make you happy. And I want you to make an hour's worth of music that is
just those songs. For instance, one of the songs that makes me happy is Pharrell's
happy song. Another song that makes me happy is celebration by Kool and the Gang.
I want you to think about what your playlist would be if you were a rock star,
and you were able to hire a band to follow you around playing songs that would
make everyone around you smiles and rejoice with you. When you're making this playlist, I want you
to make sure it lasts for one hour. And so that is one thing you may do. If you do, I want you to listen to it. The
second thing that I plan to add to my list is being outside in the evening air.
There is something very peaceful about sitting outside relaxing and being a
part of the beautiful essence of nature. I will use this 10–15-minute span of
time to just sit and think HAPPY thoughts.
If you do this, remember that it should be time where you just exist
outside of your home and away from all the distractions that are inside of your
home. So, no pictures, no dishes sitting in the sink and nothing to remind you
that you need to dust. I just want to exist. The third thing that is on my list
of five is having a conversation with a friend. I always can call and talk with
someone, and it doesn't cost me anything. That person may be a long-lost
friend. That person could be someone that you talked to often. But I want you
to add to your list a conversation with someone. This conversation shouldn't be
a text. This conversation should not be a letter. However, we are going to get
to the point and we two were writing letters as a part of our happiness
journey. You go through your phone and just call someone and tell them that you
were thinking about them and see where the conversation takes you. The fourth
thing on my list is doing a puzzle. Now my mother raised me on puzzles and so
for me puzzles take me back to early childhood memories. It reminds me of a
time when things were simple, and they make me smile. You don't have to do
puzzles that frustrate you or puzzles that require that you think a lot. But puzzles for me take me to some of the
happiest moments of my life. For me I'm talking about everything from word
searches which are easy to 1000-piece puzzles which can be cumbersome for some
people. And this is just a reminder I do not want you to do anything that
causes you stress. And so, if thousand-piece puzzles cause you stress, don't do
them. And you don't have to complete the puzzle if that's something that you
choose to do invest in a puzzle mat. These mats allow you to start the puzzle
and, in the middle of the process, roll it up, store it away, and then bring it
back out the next day. That means that you do not have to leave the puzzle
displayed on a table and it does not have to be in your way. However, it is always at your disposal. The
fifth thing on my list is swimming. Now I doubt if I go swimming tomorrow. I
doubt if I will go swimming even the next day.
I am not saying that you have to do everything on this list. But it will
give you options of things that you can do daily that brings happiness to your
existence. For me, swimming takes me back to when I would spend summers at our grandparent’s
lake space. Swimming reminds me of being with my sisters. Swimming reminds me
of disappearing underneath the water and having nothing but the silence and the
darkness of swimming in a lake exist for as long as I can hold my breath. And so,
for me it is a happy thing.
So, here's your challenge think about simple easy things that maybe you did
as a child that made you happy that are easy to reproduce and maybe you've been
putting them off or maybe you aren't even forgotten that those things brought
you happiness. Whatever they are I want you to commit to doing one of those
things every day this week. It would be good if it was the same thing over and
over again. But that does not have to be how you do it. You can create a habit
of just doing something. Just taking time for yourself to do something that you
know increases the amount of happiness that is in your life. The best way to do
this is to find the specific time and put it on your schedule. Let us say you
choose a puzzle. What I am going to do is place it on my calendar every day. Whatever
it is, I need you to commit to doing it for 15 to 20 minutes at least every day
this week. Now in the spirit of us holding each other accountable, I would like
for you to give me at least one of those things. If you are feeling ambitious,
then feel free to jot down all five of them. Now even if you do not put it in
the comments list, I want you to write it down in your happy journal. That is right I want you to get a book
a tablet or something and I want you to make it your happy journal. You are
going to use this to track your journey over the next 30 days. You are going to
use it to record the things that make you happy. You don't have to buy anything. Most of you have phones with a memo app on it.
You can create a new memo called happiness. And in that memo, you can list the
things that you do every day.
I just want you to get into the habit of doing something small that allows
you to be happy. Now after you made that list here is the extra credit for
today. I want you to list five things that may cost you money to do, five
things that you may not be able to do today, five things that you may have to
plan to do. I want you to produce this list of five things because part of
happiness is having something to look forward to. While we are creating these
daily avenues of happiness, I want us to also be creating happiness
destinations. I want you to have something to wake up and look forward to. Some
of you may plan a trip to a place that you haven't been. You may plan to do an
activity that you thought about doing but have been putting off. Here is the catch.
I want you to write a date by one of those things and I want you to start
planning to do that. If you are planning on taking a trip, I'd like for you to
write the date at least 30 days out when you're going to take that trip. And it
must be at the very least 30 days out. This cannot be something that you are
going to do next week. This cannot be something that you are going to do
tomorrow. This has to be something that you're going to plan on doing. And again,
if you're being rambunctious, list 1, 2, 3, 4 or all 5 of those things in the
comment section as well. I just want you to tell me what something that you
might do in the future that's going to bring you happiness. And then I want you
to get to planning for this thing.
Happiness is not something that just sneaks up on us. Oh, don't get me wrong,
sometimes things happen that make us happy. But true happiness comes when we
plan for it. And before we start planning to make anybody else happy, we must
plan on how we get happiness into our own souls. I am looking forward to your
list. I am looking forward to reading them. But more importantly I am looking
forward to holding you accountable to accomplishing one of those tasks every
day and then holding you a common countable for where you are on your plant
happiness state. this is an easy task. This is something that you should be
able to do easy.
As usual I wish you Shalom. And I wish you Shalom in abundance. I want peace
to be so abundant in your life that it overflows and touches everything that
you touch.
Be well. I love you.
