Happiness Update

Well .. I can't guarantee I will be very good at keeping up with this blog. With working full time, taking care of Hudson and Andy and trying to keep the house in order I am exhausted by the end of the day!

I have made o.k. progress towards my January goals of getting healthier. I am still going strong without Sugar! Most days I only have 1 cup of coffee (although there have been several days that I've had 2). I've decided that NOT being able to have caffiene makes me more unhappy than having it makes me, so I am giving myself permission to break this rule if I'm having the urge for more than 1 cup of coffee :)

I haven't been nearly as good as I wanted to be in the working out department though. It has been so hard with the schedule I was on. I will be switching shifts starting Saturday though, so I'm hoping that will give me a chance to get more running and working out in. The cold snowy weather doesn't help either since I can't talk Hudson and Maverick on walks even.

So far I don't feel like my January theme of "getting fit" is contributing to my happiness. I actually feel more like it's taking away from my happiness since I feel bad about myself when I'm not doing as well as I'd like on my goals :(

Here are a few things that made me happy the past few weeks (I stole this idea from my friend Alysha who is doing her own Happiness Project):

1. Snow!! (and mostly the fact that the big storm came on my day off)

2. My morning cup of coffee

3. "Healthy" brownies I made tonight (NO sugar and delicous .. thank you Pinterest for the awesome recipe!)

4. My 3 days off per week to spend with Hudson!

5. Going to Ikea last week and getting a few things to start some organization projects (I'm getting a jumpstart on February's goals)

6. A clean house

I probably won't post again until the end of the month .. but hopefully I will be able to make more significant progress towards my Fitness Goals by then!! :)

The Happiness Project 2012

I read a book titled "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin last summer. I decided it was time for me to make a change in my life for the better and become a happier, more fulfilled person. My plan at that time was to get started immediately with my own Happiness Project, setting monthly goals to work towards and lead me to a happier life. Well, here it is January 1st and I haven't started this project. I was thinking about it a few weeks ago and decided the New Year was a good time to start.

Here is what Gretchen Rubin titled the "Happiness Manifesto":
To be happy, you need to consider feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.

One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.

The days are long, but the years are short.

You're not happy unless you think you're happy.

Your body matters.

Happiness is other people.

Think about yourself so you can forget yourself.

"It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light."—G. K. Chesterton

What's fun for other people may not be fun for you, and vice versa.

Best is good, better is best.

Outer order contributes to inner calm.

Happiness comes not from having more, not from having less, but from wanting what you have.

You can choose what you do, but you can't choose what you like to do.

"There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy." —Robert Louis Stevenson

You manage what you measure.



I have several goals set for the year by month, and I am going to update my blog with my progress as well as at the beginning of each month with my new goals.

January: Get Healthy!! ("Your body Matters")
"Fit is not a destination, it's a way of life"

My theme this month is overall health and fitness. I like to consider myself a generally healthy individual, but there is always room for improvement. My 5 'goals' this month are:

1. Cut out added sugar/sweetners/caffeine (only 1 cup/day)
Although I don't eat a ton of sweets or drink a lot of caffeinated drinks, I have definitely let things slide recently. I want to get back to feeling more energetic and get rid of the 'sugar crash.'

2. Get up and move! (Move for at least 30 mins/day)
This won't be easy with my work schedule and Hudson - but I can walk on my breaks at work and even with Hudson in the evenings so I know I can make it work! I always feel so much better on the days that I get out and move around a bit :)

3. RUN - 30 miles/month
I want to get back into running and possibly run another 1/2 marathon this spring/summer - so I am going to try running 30 miles/month - which is about 3 days/week.

4. Meal Plan and cook at home at least 3-4 days/week
I eat better when I plan and cook - so my goal this month is to get back into the habit of meal planning and cooking healthy food each week.

5. Sleep 8+ hours/night
I am always happier and in a better mood when I get a good night's sleep. Although it's not always my choice how much sleep I get I'm going to make an effort to go to bed earlier (especially on work nights!) so I start feeling more refreshed and energetic in the mornings.


I will check in next week to update my progress :)