Friday, December 16, 2011

my happiness project

happiness print via etsy

happiness. 
i've been thinking about this word for a while now.
what does it mean?
how to i get it?
what is my happiness measured by?
am i happy?

a couple months ago, i read the new york times bestseller happiness project by gretchen rubin. basically, she divides the year into 12 months and works on improving a different area of her life during every month. i have been inspired to take on a similar project for 2012. yes, it might look like a glorified new years resolution, but i think there's more to it than meets the eye. i've realized after scrutinizing my life this past year, that there's a lot of things i'd like to improve on: 
marriage, health, spiritual life, finances, attitude, mindfulness, cleanliness, and relationships all make the list. basically, i'm realizing that i have lacked discipline this past year. and i believe that if i'm more disciplined, i will accomplish more, and thus, be happier and more content with my life.

while i've been thinking about this project, i was reminded of another book i read in high school called the celebration of discipline by richard foster. after i found it, i looked through the table of contents and was happy to see that the book was divided up into 12 spiritual disciplines: 
meditation, prayer, study, simplicity, service, confession, and worship are some of the chapters.

so for 2012, i'm embarking on my own happiness project. for me, the emphasis is learning discipline through having specific goals and following through daily/weekly/monthly with the tasks i've created to get there. here's my 12 month break down of my project thus far:

 month/happiness project/spiritual discipline
january: spirituality/meditation
february: vitality/prayer
march: marriage/fasting
april: cleanliness/study
may: finances/simplicity
june: mindfulness/solitude
july: friends/submission
august: leisure/service
september: attitude/confession
october: work/worship
november: family/guidance
december: happiness/celebration

have you been thinking about a new years resolution? if so, what? also, if any of you are interested in doing a happiness project or working through celebration of discipline, i'd love some company! let me know. :)   



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