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Happy New Year! – Again

February 1, 2012 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: Furryscaly

You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.

— CS Lewis

I’ve decided to start 2012 over again. January was the pits and I had great expectations for 2012, so I’ve decided that as of today, February 1^st I’m starting over. It’s the only way I know to get a do-over.

January was a sad month. Between friends, family and co-workers we lost five people. It seemed like I was always signing condolence cards. These things happen. But, I don’t want to spend the rest of the year in a January hangover, so I’m declaring February 1^st my New Year.

Sad Times

In Happily Flourishing I said that since I was getting soooo old I needed to focus on being healthier and happier now. What I said in my first post this year is still true today. Every day I get a little older. From now on, I intend to get healthier, happier, and older (I can’t stop that one) every day.

What stopped me last month? Sadness. Losing people is a sad process. And I will still miss the ones I knew and empathize with the people I know who also lost someone. But, I will focus on remembering the good times. I am sad that my friends and family are no longer here, but I am grateful for the blessings they gave me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have a good cry now and again. But I still must learn to keep going. As we get older, we either learn how to grieve in a healthy way or we give up. It’s just that simple – and just that hard.

I have a bad habit of anticipating… not so much the good things, but the other losses that will inevitably come. When it gets away from me, I become unable to move – as if by staying still I can halt the passage of time and stop anything from changing. Since I can’t stop change, I must cherish what I have today. And to really cherish today, I need to be healthier and happier while I am here.

Here’s to a Healthier, Happier 2012

So, I’m starting over. Sometimes, that feels like going backward but in this case, it’s a positive step forward.

I hope your January was better than mine. But no matter, let’s get back up on the horse together and get moving. If we stop, we quit and I’M NOT READY TO QUIT just yet.

Reasonable Expectations

December 21, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: vieux bandit

Originally published on December 14, 2009.

What we see depends mainly on what we look for.

— John Lubbock

Today I stumbled across The Happiness Project, a book that hasn’t even been released yet. It is Gretchen Rubin’s account of how she tried to take all the wisdom that is out there about how to be happy and integrate it into her life.

It’s a little like the idea behind Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen only instead of food, the author focused on happiness (which some people would say is the same thing.) In a recent post, Gretchen writes about choosing to let go of one of her resolutions – “entertain more” – after having struggled with it for several years.

What she found was that when she let go of her expectation to “entertain more,” she was able to invite people over and actually enjoy both the event and their company. By not “entertaining” in the way she had been trained, she was able to Continue reading » Reasonable Expectations

Building Your Happiness Momentum

September 6, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: georgikeith

Sometimes thinking too much can destroy your momentum.

— Tom Watson

There’s something about Americans’ expectations of life that seems to set us up for dissatisfaction. Don’t get me wrong, a little dissatisfaction is good for the soul, it motivates us to stretch – to accomplish more, for ourselves and others. But, as a culture, we seem to have trouble finding a Continue reading » Building Your Happiness Momentum

Where Does Motivation Come From?

April 28, 2011 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: nyoin

One of the most wonderful things about imagination is that it can see things, not as they are now, but as they can be.

With this statement, Denis Waitely began to make his case for imagination as the source of motivation, positive OR negative. In essence, what he is saying is that our motivation comes from the pictures we build in our heads – pictures built by our imaginations.

Having just read about this idea, it seems Continue reading » Where Does Motivation Come From?

Deciding What Is “Enough”

November 25, 2010 - Posted by PattiAnn

Photo credit: woodleywonderworks

When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of “shoulds,” free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn’t right, we will have peaceful hearts.

— Anonymous

I have reached the conclusion that part of the reason that we get discouraged is that we believe that we’re supposed to be different than we are. One of my resolutions for Lent is that I will listen to audio books by one of the Christian writers that I like for 15 minutes each day. This usually works out pretty well because I walk the dog for 30-40 minutes each day and I can easily choose to listen to something for 15 minutes – IF I PICK Continue reading » Deciding What Is “Enough”