My Mom always told me that being happy was hard work. Her reasoning was that if being happy was easy, everyone would be feeling it.
In some ways, she’s right. It takes personal motivation to improve our lots in life, and if we keep doing the same things over and over, it’s no wonder that half the nation feels BLAH most of the time.
Well, here we are, facing the clean slate of a new, bright and shiny year. This is *our chance to try new things, and possibly make strides towards feeling a little more upbeat about ourselves.
(*side note, but did anyone else have a Goonies flashback there? When they’re stuck in the well and one of the kids starts shouting about “down here, this is OUR time!” No? No one else had a Goonies moment?)
Ok then, moving on, here’s a list of simple things to help 2011 turn out to be a great year.
- Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present
- Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
- You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
- Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out credit card.
- Clean out the clutter. If you don’t use it, get rid of it.
- Get Moving. Be it playing the Wii or taking the stairs instead of an elevator, anything counts.
- Smile at one stranger. Preferably not a creepy stranger.
- Play a game, any game. Kickball, Freeze Tag, Monopoly. As long as it makes you laugh, then it’s beneficial to you’re mental well-being
- Don’t worry about what hasn’t happened. One way or another, that situation is going to happen, use the time before hand to be prepared, then let it go
- Try one thing you’ve never tried before. It doesn’t have to be some extreme skydiving, but if you’ve never volunteered for a Beach Clean-Up event or a Cancer Walk to raise money, give it a whirl. The emotional reward from the experience is overwhelming.
I realize that these small things won’t bring about world peace, or teleport Paris Hilton into outer space but anything, however small, that we can do in our day-to-days lives, to bring about a moment of well-being is a welcomed change of pace.
On that note, I’m going to take my own advice and whip up a lunch worthy of a princess – since tonight we dine off of the poor college kid menu, Ramen a la MSG. *insert witty chuckle here*
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