My Happiness Project Focus Areas

As I shared yesterday, I am reading this fabulous book, "The Happiness Project" which has gotten me thinking a lot about my life, goals, and myself really. I am haunted with the fact that I struggle to stick to things that I start when my life gets busy (for example: new workouts, journaling, schedules).  I have been thinking about this project that Gretchen Rubin  started for herself in her Happiness project. Like her, I do not consider myself an "unhappy person" by any means, but definitely have some areas that I would like to improve about myself. Thus begins, my idea of MY happiness project.

 

I sat in a training today for a thinking map program and had a really hard time being 'present' with what it was that was being presented. This was partially due to the fact that the day after school ended, I went on a trip to Nashville with my sister to see a concert and was gone for 5 days. When I returned, I had one day at home, then was back at this training. As I was sitting there, I was confronted with everything I was doing that overwhelms me. I should be at home with my son, playing, spending time together during our summer...instead, I am here, training. Honestly, its not the training (which I enjoy) or the leadership (which I'm also good at) but the lack of balance I have in my life between work and my life. 

So, given this chaos that I am in, trying to figure out my life right now, I have decided to follow in the footsteps of Gretchen and begin my own "Happiness Project" with goals and resolutions that I intend on keeping!!! Where do you go from here? Well, I needed to decide what areas of my life I want to focus on.
Here's what I have come up with thus far:

• Parenting
• Organization
• Energy
• Professionalism
• Relationships
• Balance

There are so many areas a person can choose to focus in bettering themselves, but I want to choose areas that I see as my biggest priority and thus will lead me to feel better about what I am doing. Thinking about things which haunt me and areas where I want to improve, these all tend to mesh together, where one will definintely affect the other.

In the book, Gretchen chose one topic a month which to focus on, extending her project an entire year. I feel the need to modify this in order to have a strong focus, building positive habits over the summer, which will help me to be rounded out by the start of school again in the fall. At that point, I could re-evlauate and decide what I am going to do and where I will go from there.  The biggest thing for me is to build the habit when things are calmer (summer) in order to gain the needed momentum for the year.

Now the question is, where to start? When to start? I have a totaly of 9 full weeks until school starts again in the fall.  I feel that my solution is not going to come to me staring at this computer screen, but it is imperative that I get started right away in order to start meeting some of my goals and heading towards a goal, guiding me where I want to be in the future.

I am still in an awkward place with international teaching and trying to decide how to break the news to my boss, what it will entail for me next year, and how I get from here to there. I know God will lead me where I need to be and I feel this is it, now for the follow through in order to get there. 

I hope to have a plan tomorrow for how to start this journey. Until then.

Amanda :)