When it comes to letting small things roll off my back I’ve let things roll off about as quickly as a jar of honey solidifies. When a driver cuts me off it will put me in an aggressive mood all day. I’ve let spilled milk effect me in a way that I end up bringing myself down. I didn’t mean to spill the milk and yet I get mad at myself and call myself stupid in my head for not being able to handle such an easy task. Ridiculous! Again, small things that just didn’t seem to roll. I’m still not sure how to let these things roll off my back, but I’m at least trying to change my approach.
Helping more people without letting them use me seemed to be the most difficult task. I often let people ask me for favors that go above and beyond the call of duty. I’ve had people ask me to drive an hour and a half away to pick them up and take them to the airport, when the airport is only 20 minutes away from their house. Literally that’s a $40.00 cab ride. Sadly I’ve said yes, because I don’t know how to say no. I thought that would be the extent of my help when I told them that I wouldn’t be able to pick them back up when they came back, but they convinced me that they had no one else. So I did the return airport ride as well. I’ve said yes to helping people take care of their dogs knowing very well that I’m completely allergic to them. Allowed people to stay with me when they’re homeless or in transition and never asked for a single dime in return. I can't get mad at them for asking because I NEVER SAY NO! I’m teaching myself to have more self respect and to learn how to say no when it's truly inconvenient or at least ask for favors in return.
Building a better me for 2012 is the plan. This was the plan before I started reading “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin and now while I’m reading this book I’m realizing more people are in need of a solution to the same types of problems. We get stuck in a daily routine that we think works for us. We later realize that not every day puts a smile on our face or allows for leisure time. Can you remember a time when blowing bubbles was the highlight of your day? I can remember a time when sitting around and trying to make the biggest bubble was the hardest task I had. Or learning how to let go of the handle bars of my bike while I'm flying down a hill. There used to be a tree house far back in the woods when I lived in Road Island and I used to believe that God put it there for me. I later realized that it was owned by my cousin's who lived in a neighborhood behind us, but it was still magical to me. I choose to believe in the majestic part of life and the freedom of happiness, but it's lost sometimes beneath my daily routine because of work and other things.
Maybe you’d like to join me while I work on this “Happiness Project” for myself and for you as well. So far I just received the book and I’m planning on reading it over the next week or so. I’ll try to put as many updates as I can on here, but I would love to hear your story as well. Tell me if you’ve read the book… what did you think? Do you find yourself not feeling as happy as you could? Do you feel that life has something bigger to offer and you just haven’t found it yet? Let’s take this journey together and turn our 2012 into a life changing positive movement. Grab and friend and start “The Happiness Project” together. I think we all need to remind ourselves what it's like to blow a bubble so big our