My Happiness Project

Have you read Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project? I read it back in June and enjoyed it quite a bit - enough that I decided to undertake my own Happiness Project. Because she's clearly awesome and believes in what she wrote, Gretchen set up The Happiness Project Toolbox where you can use as many tools as you'd like. I started with my "Personal Commandments":

1.  Be unapologetically me - no excuses, no explanations, no shame, just ME
2. Just STOP - worrying, stressing, judging, comparing
3. Practice the Golden Rule
4. Take care of me first (my physical state: get enough sleep, be active, don't get too hungry, comfort temperature-wise)
5. So what? Who cares? - stop worrying about what others think: in the words of Wayne Dyer, "What others think of me is none of my business."
6. I am enough just as I am in this exact moment in time
7. Think twice, speak once
8. Cut myself and others slack
9. Take care of it now - file that paper, make that phone call, clean that room
10. Be my own best friend
11. Stand up and speak out - use my words
12. Do one thing at a time
13. Love, always

My first resolution, like Gretchen's, is to boost my energy:

1. I plan on being in bed by 9:30 *without* my iPod - it just keeps me wired too long, and then I need to read on top of that time wasted, making for way-too-late o'clock
2. I'm going to get intentional exercise (a workout vs. housework or shopping) three times a week - anything else is gravy, baby
3. I'll take my damned vitamins every day (maybe the B12 will work better this way? *snort*)
4. Listen to my body (take care of my back) - I will not push myself when my body tells me it needs a break, and will do what is necessary to keep my back as pain-free as possible
5. Act how I want to feel - I think this will be the most difficult: in the book, Gretchen explains that if she wants to feel more energetic, she needs to act as if she has lots of energy

I have my other resolutions set up and ready to go with daily reminders in my Google Calendar. This should be an interesting journey!