My first month of my Happiness Project went pretty well! Most days I felt really good after checking off that I had followed all of my resolutions but some days, I really didn't stick with my resolutions and it made me a bit unhappy with myself which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do. I realized I have a lot to work on when it comes to seeing things in a positive light instead of jumping to "I SUCK I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T RUN OR MAKE AN EFFORT TO NOT EAT A LOT OF CANDY TODAY." That being said, December's resolutions focus on trying to be more positive -- which is something I already knew I had to work on.
Obviously, once November has come and gone, it doesn't make sense to just forget about those resolutions and just move on to a new set. So, in addition to this month's resolutions, I will also be sticking with November's as well.
Here's a mini-recap of my November Resolutions:
1. Go for a run or do a 20-minute workout routine
Not making excuses (or maybe I am) but November got pretty busy toward the middle and end of the month which actually made it really hard to fit in a run or a workout. The good news is it's on my radar now that I can go for a run instead of pin on Pinterest and I've been running more frequently. Running makes me happy - even if I dread it and Pinterest sounds more fun at the time - and remembering that will hopefully keep me running more often/whenever I can.
2. Stick with Weight Watchers
Thanksgiving week made life really hard and I got extremely off track. The rest of the month was easy. In addition to Weight Watchers, I started participating in a fun, little weight-loss challenge called Diet Bet (here's how it works). I started the first week in November and it ends this coming week on December 6th. It pushes me to stick with Weight Watchers and eating right even more -- but makes it fun to do it. Also, money.
3. Walk + talk
I got pretty cray and bought a $1.99 pedometer app for my iPhone called "Moves" and it has made me addicted to walking (or as I like to say "stepping"). It's pretty ridiculous but apparently you should walk 10,000 steps a day if you want to be considered "active" -- oh and I want to be considered active. The most I've walked is around 4,000 and that was a lot of walking so every day I try to walk as much as possible so I can beat my "All-Time Record." That's life.
4. Say no to sugar
This gets easier as time goes on. Sometimes I just want a mini Crunch bar with breakfast though. I'll never be able to say no to sugar forever. It's all about portion sizes for me.
December's Resolutions:
1. Think of the good that will come out of it -- even if there doesn't seem to be any good at all. This is especially important for me to do at work.
2. When in doubt, say something positive -- I sometimes have this fight in my mind, especially within the last few months, where I know that I could say something positive but what comes out of my mouth is something negative. I want to make the effort to say something positive when I feel like I definitely have the choice to be positive or negative and hopefully it will become a habit (like it used to be for me).
3. Smile, smile, smile -- I've heard/read in several articles that just the act of smiling, even when you're alone (creepy, I know) or there's no reason to at that current moment, can make you feel positive and happy. I try to do it in the car sometimes when I can feel my road rage getting out of control and it really does help so I want to do this more often - especially in situations that I consider to be "negative."
4. Truly compliment someone else (and myself) -- something else I've had to fight in the last few months is the urge to say something negative about someone/something or insult them. It started happening by default when I was struggling in September and October of this year and that's really not who I am. In an attempt to get back to positivity, I'm going to make the effort to truly (not a forced one) compliment anyone/something/someone on a daily basis. I say "(and myself)" because as I talked about in my first Happiness Project blogpost, I'm not very fond of myself sometimes. I think in addition to complimenting those around me, I need to also take the time to compliment myself.
5. Read at least one positive quote a day -- I've always been a fan of quotes in my "adult life." Whenever I'm feeling especially icky or mad, I'll Google "positive quotes about ______." Then I read a few and it will usually bring me back to feeling pretty decent. Cheesy, right? That being said, I think it would be helpful for me to read quotes that make me feel good on a daily basis, instead of just when I'm not feeling great. Super cheesy on a daily basis. I think it'd be fun to keep some sort of journal or Google doc (I'm addicted to Google docs) with all of my favorite quotes!
“When I thought about why I was sometimes reluctant to push myself, I realized that it was because I was afraid of failure - but in order to have more success, I needed to be willing to accept more failure.” - Gretchin Rubin
After a pretty rough October for me and deciding to finally buy the Happiness Project in audiobook form so I can listen to it to-and-from work, I've decided to do my own little happiness project.
For those that don't know, The Happiness Project is a book in which Gretchen Rubin, the author, spends an entire year dedicating the time and effort to 'resolutions' each month in an effort to become even happier than she previously was. I, myself, consider myself a fairly happy person - even after the rough month I just had, just as she describes herself as being before starting her project. And just like she mentions in the book, I have acknowledged that I can be a happier person and that I'm the only person that can make that change.
I know I could be more positive, happier with myself and more confident, less judgmental, more loving to the people in my life, etc. and that if I were these things, I'd be happier overall.
Unlike Gretchen, who basically logged out her entire year and knew what each focus would be each month, I don't have that. I don't know if I'll do this for an entire year and right now I only have about 3 months worth of things I'd like to work on. Ideally, I would start this in January because it's the mark of a new year - being that most "resolutions" come into play on New Years' Day - but I don't think that I can't wait until then I feel like I need to start now. I feel motivated to start now so I'm just going to start at the random month of November.
My November resolutions focus on becoming a healthier and more active person -- as if it were actually January 1st except I'm going to try to make this a lifestyle change (everyone's favorite buzzword when it comes to eating better and being more active, hahaha). I don't like to admit this to people that I'm not close with, but for those who don't know, I struggle with feeling confident about the way I look when it comes to my weight -- no matter how much I'm told that I look good. It's been an issue with me for about 8 years now. It started out terribly where I was young, not the brightest, and doing all the wrong things to stay thin and has now gotten to the point where I feel like I'm able to make smart and adult-like decisions. However, I still have a tough time sticking to a 'plan' when it comes to losing weight (and maintaining it) and getting to a weight where I know is good for me and my confidence.
In a perfect world, I wouldn't start off focusing on this but it is something that is unfortunately very important to me and I know will give me the confidence to move forward with my other goals and resolutions in months to come.
All of that being said, here are my November Resolutions.
I keep these in a chart where each day, I check off whether or not I was able to stick to that resolution -- all in hopes that that will encourage me to stick to it!
1. Go for a run or do a 20-minute workout routine -- no excuses!
2. Stick with Weight Watchers -- it truly is the best. I get embarrassed to say that I use it most times because I feel like I don't need to lose that much weight so people probably think I'm crazy to use it but it really is super easy and it's a way to keep myself on track without tracking my calories because I hate counting calories. I can also eat whatever I want basically which works for meeee!
3. Walk + talk -- make an effort to move around more at work and at home because I have a terrible time being alive/active once I get home from work and I should make an effort to get up and walk with coworkers to lunch or just around the office. I don't need to be glued to my chair at work or my Macbook @ home
4. Say no to sugar -- most of the time.
At the end of each month, I'm going to try to make a new blog post updating on how it went and what my new resolutions will be for the next month! Wish me luuuck :)
