The third month of our Happiness Project strongly suggest we aim higher. This focuses on work in general but feel free to relate it based on your situation. Changing and developing certain characteristic or even our mindset can furthermore make us happy. I believe we just have to see things in a different perspective, take a step back and realize that there’s a bigger picture.
Anyway, here are the tasks for this month:
Launch a blog.
Enjoy the fun of failure.
Ask for help.
Work smart.
Enjoy now.
I’m quite giddy to talk about the tasks for this month maybe because I can relate to each one and have just realized that I’ve been doing these for the past year or two *pats self at the back*.
LAUNCH A BLOG
For someone who likes writing or just sharing what’s on their mind, launching a blog is easy. Consider it as an online journal of your thoughts and eventually could be an extension of yourself. But if you’re one who is not into writing nor into sharing your ideas for the whole world to see then I would suggest do something you’re not really familiar with but would be glad to try. As what GR said (yes, Gretchen Rubin) “One of the many paradoxes of happiness: we seek to control our lives but the unfamiliar and the unexpected are important sources of happiness.” It is true, whether in relationship, career or family. We love getting control of anything that we can (even those we can’t) grasp but at the same time, something unexpected an unfamiliar can surprise us and give us that boost of happiness. So add a little “adventure” or spontaneity in your life right now but choose one that you know you can sustain or do for a long time.
ENJOY THE FUN OF FAILURE
Nobody likes the idea of failing. It hurts because we know one way or another that we gave our best but it wasn’t good enough (naaaaks, kinanta mo noh?!) But seriously, failing is hard especially if you know deep inside that you gave your 101%. You tend to doubt yourself and even if the cliché saying (try and try until you succeed) runs through your head, you don’t entertain the idea. You fear that the next time you might fail again and it’ll hurt even more. My take on this, of course it’ll hurt. It’s a fact. For someone as OC & competitive like me, it can scar you. Trying again won’t be easy but I’ve soon realized that failing is mandatory to learning. My mantra: never make the same mistake twice, in correlation to what Thomas Edison said ” I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Failure’s fun right? Not really, but come to think of it, if you have not known what it feels like to be rejected then you really wouldn’t try hard to be accepted. Makes sense right?
ASK FOR HELP
I honestly, dislike know-it-alls. Don’t get me wrong. There’s a difference between being smart and being a know-it-all, the latter is definitely annoying not because they’re smart but because they pretend to be one. I don’t think I’m either of the two. I’m no smarty pants nor a know-it-all but I am not someone who would ask for help either. I’d rather make an effort to do things my way. I feel like if I delegate tasks or ask for help then it wouldn’t be made the way I wanted to. But motherhood proved me wrong. When you’re tired, sleepless and just exhausted, asking for help becomes easier. Asking help over something you’re clueless or a task that’s overwhelming can lighten up your mood a make you a little bit happier. It wouldn’t make you less of a mom, a wife or a person.
WORK SMART
Mothering a toddler and an infant, homemaking, (which means being the cleaner, laundromat, and cook) doing TV commercial castings and blogging can be challenging. I have to squeeze everything that needed to be done in a day, for 7 days a week. Just imagining and looking at the load of things I need to do can sometimes drive me crazy! So as I read The Happiness Project book about working smart, it hit me. I could be more efficient than I am now. The key to having a productive day for me means planning. Although not all of my plans push through, I must consider contingencies that often times happen. Aside from planning weekly what to do in order to have a structure in my schedule, I also try to multitask or at least do things more efficiently and downright precise. Here’s an example: If I know I need to express milk (which usually takes an hour give or take), 30 minutes before I do so I load the washer with our dirty laundry, ask the help to prepare the ingredients I need to cook lunch while I give lil’ Ms. GJG a quick bath, let lil’ Mr. GJG drink my previous EBM via bottle while I pay the bills or read a book or play Candy Crush (don’t judge me heehee) simultaneously while I pump! Now that’s being efficient. I figured I’ll be doing all these within the day anyway, so I might as well do it simultaneously as long as I can handle it with ease. The next thing I know, I’m halfway through my chores by lunch time.
ENJOY NOW
Too often especially when you become a parent, you find yourself preparing for the future. If not for you then for your kids. This I won’t deny. Mr. GJG and I always find ourselves talking about how we see our family years from now or how we must be critical in saving up for the future. It’s all about the future. We’re so much of advance thinkers that every time we plan a trip, we get too excited, too anticipating and too caught up that we’ve exhausted all our energy, our imagining that we always felt like we’ve been on the trip even before it started. By the time we’re actually on the trip, the excitement has faded too fast, too soon. The thing is, time goes by so fast especially when you’re enjoying what you’re doing. If that’s the case, living in the now is the only thing we can do to “stop” time from going by so fast. I know its not easy but all one can really do is enjoy what is present no matter how challenging it is. I don’t mean to say that we must neglect the goal which often pertains to the future) rather, we must enjoy the journey which is the now to appreciate what waits for us in the future. I guess what I’m saying is don’t get too caught up preparing for the future that you’ll neglect what is happening today.
photo source
As for me, I’m enjoying now and I’m appreciating more and more each day my kids, my family. They grow up too fast all I can do is love them even more. I know the ordinary days can get the best of me but if I step back and look at the big picture, I see- what was once my future now my present.
Happy Easter Everyone!
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