Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Happiness Project--Week 2: Personal Commandments

Personal Commandments: “The overarching principles that you want to guide your actions and thoughts”

For some reason I have found this particular assignment to be difficult. (And this is only the second week. I’m in trouble.) I should be working on week three’s assignment, but I have been milling the second assignment around in my head for a couple of weeks now and just couldn’t really pen-point exactly what I wanted/needed my personal commandments to be. But the longer I thought about it, the more I discovered that the list I was creating boiled down to the principles of the Fish! philosophy that was made famous by the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. So here we go; my personal commandments in a nutshell.

1. Be There--Being emotionally present for people.
Savor the moment. Be with my boys. Take in there smiles. Their laugher. Their innocence. Value my husband. Stop and smell the roses. Stop multi-tasking with people—tasks yes, people no.

2. Choose Your Attitude--Taking responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you.
Everyday is a new day. I can make it a good one or a bad one. It is my choice. Will I made lemonade with any lemons thrown my way? I hope so. Remember…I can only change me. I can only control myself. My thoughts, My words. My actions. My mood.

3. Make Their Day--Finding simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way.
Spend time figuring out what I can do to make someone else feel special. By focusing on making someone else's—husband, kids, family, friends, co-workers, and students—day a little brighter. It’s the small things.

4. Play--Taps into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun.
Act like I want to feel. This is big for me, especially lately. Between my 9 month old and my post-op husband, I am pretty much tired everyday. I must act as if I am full of energy, so I will feel as if I am. Put a smile on my face and go. I believe I read somewhere that just making yourself smile will put you in a better mood. My boys are little and I want to play and be silly everyday with them. I need to remember not to take life so seriously. It’s okay for me to let loose and have fun.

That's a tall order if I do say so myself! Wish me luck on my journey…

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