January Goals for my Happiness Project

So, I'm sitting here... drinking freshly brewed ice tea from my Keurig in my Jimmy Buffett "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes" cup...  thankful for another day of vacation to be lazy, relax and enjoy the simple things in life.

This morning I planned the first six months of my Happiness Project.  I could barely write fast enough to keep up with my head.  I'm sure that I'll continue to develop the remaining months as well as expand on what I've done so far.  The more I work on this, the more excited I am.

So...... here we go!!

January is:

BE ME!!

Do What I Love & Love What I Do

 

In the past year, I've kind of lost sight of me and some of the things that I really love and want to do.  So I've picked six things to focus on this month to help me get back in touch with me.  (I could have picked a gazillion, but six seems a more manageable number.)

1. Blog Regularly - at least 5-6 times a week.  This week so far, I've done three entries and I still have three days left.  Just renewing the blog this week has energized me and gotten me excited about the upcoming month and year.
2. Read Daily - I love to read.  I am a true bibliophile - as my sister says, I devour books!!  My goal each year is to read 50 books.  I did it for the first time in 2012 - but only because with my parents' illnesses, I found myself with a lot of sitting and waiting on my hands.  My goal for this year is to turn the TV and the phone off at 9 PM on school nights.... make some herbal tea, light a favorite candle, and give myself the gift of an hour to read.  I think this will also help me relax, calm down from the day, and prepare for bed.  I'm excited about this - I have so many books on my to-read list, I'm hoping this will help me achieve my goal!
3. Book Club - several friends (and new friends) have started a book club.  I'm excited to be a part of this for the social aspect as well as the sharing and discussion of good books.  We've met twice and our next meeting is next week - I've got some reading to do!!  What I like is that this group often picks books that I might not pick for myself - so I'm expanding my reading horizons!
4. Gratitude Journal - In 2010, I started a gratitude journal.  It was one of my favorite things to do as I got ready for bed - to reflect on my day and find something to be thankful for.  When I moved to Bastrop, I quit doing it.  Today, I'm going to start it up again.  I bought a cute notebook and a fun pen.  I'm ready to go!!  I may even share some of these on my blog too!
5. Movies - I love to watch movies.  All kinds.  At the theatre, on Netflix, on cable.  My inner nerd craves a good documentary! I don't ever block out time to do it, then I go to Dallas for a week and glutton on movies.  So my commitment is to sit down to one movie a week - whether I go out to a theatre or see it at home.  Again, I may share some of my favorites on here with you.  This should also solve my dilemma of having Netflix movies for 6 months on my counter bc I never have time to watch any of them.
6. Social Outings - When I lived in Frisco, I had a busy, active calendar full of events (lunches, dinners, musicals, etc.).  That slowed down when I moved here, then I just kind of even gave up and quit trying.  I'm going to commit to once a week having some kind of social outing - coffee, movie, lunch, dinner or some other event.  This is going to require me to come out of my shell and make connections with people.  Maybe all of those people that I've kept at arms length - it's time to take them up on their offers.  My goal for now is one outing a week, but I'd like to work it to two as the year goes on.  Austin and Central Texas is such an amazing area with so much to see and explore, so it's time for me to get out there and see and explore!

So that's it.  Not very earth shattering, huh?  But thinking about making these activities an important part of my life excites me, energizes me, and makes me want to keep pushing myself.

 

I will be holding myself accountable for these goals - but friends, feel free to check me on them and hold me accountable as well.  My biggest challenge will be letting work take over my life - I will fight this battle weekly, but I just have to remind myself that I am important and it's worth it to put me FIRST.

 

I'm always open for comments and feedback.....  let's make it a great January!!