Day 2 Make a Commitment to Cultivating Happiness

Okay, time to get serious about happy! What does it mean to be totally committed to something? Often it means that you set a goal and then promise yourself that you will do what it takes to reach that goal. We commit to relationships, we commit to a job or a career, and maybe to a hobby. Today I want to focus on committing to cultivating happiness. Planting the seeds of contentment and tending their growth.

Yesterday, I shared how at least part of how happy we are is directly related to a choice we make. I also shared my goal of running this 30 Day Happiness Habit Challenge to help us make a conscious decision to be happier and create a new habit of having a more positive outlook. The first step to making that happen is to make a commitment to this challenge and to happiness. This holds true for any new habit you want to create. The first step is always to commit to it. From there, it’s a matter of daily practice until the new behavior or action has become a true habit—something you do without conscious thought or effort.

Our journey toward a happier version of ourselves is no different. We must commit to happiness. Of course, it isn’t as easy as saying to yourself that you will be happier from now on. While that’s certainly helpful, it isn’t quite as simple as that. I am always surprised to find that some people do not know what makes them happy. Before we can truly commit to happiness we have to figure out what makes us happy.

Spend some time today to reflect on what makes you happy and what doesn’t make you happy. Dig deep. For example, if curling up on the couch with a good book makes you happy, think about why that is. Is it because it gives you a chance to escape and forget about your own life for a while? If so, try to pin-point what you’re hiding from when you dive into a book and what you can do about that. If getting up at 6am to go to work makes you unhappy, and changing to a later schedule isn’t an option, think about the positive things about getting up early. You get to see the sun rise, you get to come home at a decent hour and have time to relax with your kids or spouse before bedtime. Something as simple as implementing a relaxing bed-time routine and going to bed a little earlier may make it much easier to get up at 6am and improve your whole outlook on workday mornings.

We’ll dig a little deeper into what makes us happy and how we can go about creating more happiness in future posts. For now, what is your own personal definition of happiness? Make a list of at least 10 different things or people that make you feel happy. Then commit to using the coming days to work on finding ways to do more of what creates happiness for you. You won’t regret it.

Cheers! Karen