Happiness is…?

“When I was 5 years old, my mom told me that happiness was the key to life.
When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I
 wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment. I told
them they didn’t understand life.” – John Lennon

This is my attempt to understand.

Growing up, my father annoyed me to no ends with his wisdom that anything unsavory in life existed to help us ‘build character’.  That may be true, but these ‘learning opportunities’ seriously get in the way of my happiness!

I’m sure I have been happy, but always on a tilted edge; a cup twirling on its rim that starts to lean to the outside and eventually falls over. Each time I pick it up and swirl it again but can’t seem to get it to land upright. I’m tired of being dizzy.

“So…it has come to this!”

A 365-day journey to uncover my own reluctant happiness; happiness independent of the external de-railings some would call character building.

I plan to do one experiment a day. I have a list. You can view it on the calendar in the side bar to the left. Could be the other left.

This has been done before, but not by me. My reasons are many and somewhat irrelevant, but in case you’re wondering, here is the Happiness Project vs Bridget Jones breakdown. (If you’re not wondering just skip ahead and I’ll never know)

  • I train people’s bodies to be happy and healthy. The mind should be as well. Many clients ask me about happiness so this is part of my answer for them.
  •  Men are not the source of my unhappiness nor the reason for this experiment but it would be a lie to say a guy is not the catalyst. (If I could lie about that I would, – it’s so cliché, – but I can’t risk the bad karma.)
  • Writing is a passion I rarely find time for. This experiment will force me to write. (or the blogs will peter out…)
  • I believe I can always improve myself and my life in the process

Why publicize it? It’s my best shot at staying accountable to myself.

Feel free to play along at your own risk, to offer up suggestions of ‘daily happy experiments’ (I need more), or to simply comment by using the form at the bottom of the page.

There is no standard for accurately measuring the success of my missions, but I will randomly rate them for the entertainment purposes of future generations. Ultimate success will be based on two factors:

  1. The itchiness of my feet in the morning.
  2. The lack of a twitch under my right eye.

Despite my highly scientific approach, these things hold meaning for me. If you are attempting your own happiness experiment, I would suggest you choose measuring sticks that have meaning for you; not everyone will be lucky enough a have a twitch under his or her right eye.

Twitch aside, I am no different than the majority of people who will read this.

I go through the motions of happy on a daily basis and am by no means suicidal, but I long to wake up with my feet itching to hit the floor instead of the heavy, slightly disoriented realization that this is, in fact, my life. There’s nothing inherently wrong with it, so what’s up?

Are most people happy? Truly storm weathering, charismatically filled, cups upright happy? I intend to be.

Ready? You can start reading at Day One or start at the end from the side bar.

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So… it has come to this**:

Life is not fair. Dad may be right after all. Getting up after the fall is hard, but I’m going to do it eventually, so why not now?

Rating: Making the plan to do this experiment

  • Itchy feet – 4 out of 5 (couldn’t sleep I was so excited)
  • Twitchy eye – 0 out of 5 (so tired in morning I forgot to look)

** In regards to “It has come to this” – something I read on Facebook – apparently it adds instant dramatic tension and is valid in literally every situation. It’s my sideline experiment to put the phrase to the test.