30 day happy challenge

[Canadian]

Basically I think I could have made a lot more progress in my habits if I took it slower rather than trying to make big leaps. So I've decided to make a challenge for myself that is so incredibly gentle and easy that it will take virtually no willpower and I cannot fail.

Probably my biggest problem is that I get too caught up in trying to be productive and whatever else that I lose sight of just enjoying myself, which shuts down my capability to be productive or whatever else I'm concentrating on at the time.

So here's the challenge:
Sit and concentrate, distraction-free, on being happy and dissolving whatever anxieties I might have at that moment. Every day I'll add 30 seconds to the minimum time. So the first day is 30 seconds, second day is one minute, and so on until 15 minutes.

And also so I do not forget, I'll probably post here every day to say that I've done it.

If anyone feels inspired to join in, that would be awesome.

[TheEternalSunshine]

Canadian, I am in:-) I really like the idea of extending the time a bit every day. I am going to try it.
Best of luck
XXM

[Clint Cora]

If you want to be happy, you have to know what are the things that will make you happy. Then once you ID them, make time each day to have them in your life. That is how to be happy. Although the meditation is great, I think most people will find that there are more factors in life that will make them happy.

For example, in my case, my dogs, my martial arts and more, make me happy. That's why no matter how hard I work, I always make time for some of the things that make me happy each day.

[Canadian]

OK, I did 30 seconds today. But, although it's not part of the challenge, I'll also try to relax throughout the rest of the day while I do whatever else it is I am going to be doing today.

Thanks for joining in Sunshine. Hopefully it will be fun!

To Clint,
I've arranged my whole life around what makes me happy. The only problem is that I get caught up in silly emotions, for example worrying how productive I am being or how I'm going to make money, which gets in the way of me actually doing the things I enjoy and then I just waste time on the internet and whatnot. So what I need is to just relax and dissolve the feelings that get in the way of me naturally doing the things that make me happy and useful. Thanks anyway though.

[TheEternalSunshine]

I get too caught up in everyday life too and need to concentrate more on little things in life that makes me happy.

I have now 2 columns in my diary, one called goals and the other one pleasure. I allocate things I've done each day to each column for example studying comes under goals as it gets me closer to my objective while baking comes under pleasure as I love cooking:-) This allows me to keep a balance between goals and pleasure rather than spending too much time on one or the other.

I did my 30 sec today by going through things/ people I am grateful for and this always cheer me up, so looking forward to tomorrow:-)

Love XXM

[Canadian]

Did my one minute.

[Karen TDQ]

Writing a gratitude journal/diary every day has made a world of difference to me! Perhaps you might add that when you are up to larger time segments...

[Canadian]

1.5 minutes.

[Canadian]

2.5 minutes. I think it's helping a bit so far.

[TheEternalSunshine]

I did my meditation on the bus and went through my gratitude list while walking to clinic! But the good news is despite being insanely busy, I have managed to stay positive and a few really good things has happened in the past couple of days which I can think is directly related to my positive attitude:-)
The one sentence diary or gratitude diary is very effective. I've been doing it for a while and love it.
XXM

[faraway]

In Russia we have a famous saying of nineteenth century by Kozma Prutkov "If you want to be happy, be happy". It was ment to sound sarcastic, but to me it is wise.

I am absolutely content with my life, but am I happy? Not sure. I'll start devoting time to my happyness dayly. Thank you for the idea.

[Ken Benjamin]

It helps to know what happiness is first. Be careful not to confuse happiness with joy, which we have a tendency to do.

This might help:
How You Can Be Happier - What The Ancients Knew That We Have Forgotten

All in all, sounds like a really good plan. I'll be interested to see how it turns out.

[Canadian]

That was an interesting article. With this I'm not trying for an over-elated feeling, more of a non-anxiety feeling.

3 minutes.

[Ken Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Canadian

That was an interesting article. With this I'm not trying for an over-elated feeling, more of a non-anxiety feeling.

3 minutes.

Thanks, glad you found it useful.

If it's anxiety, have you removed stimulants such as caffeine from your diet?

I found that made a really big difference for me.

Sugar can also give me a temporary jittery feeling that is similar to anxiety but much shorter lasting.

Caffeine, I find, affects me for at least 12 hours, sugar only an hour or two at most.

[Canadian]

I never really got into drinking caffeine, thanks anyway though.
3.5 minutes.

[The Happy Mom]

Dear Canadian,

Finding happiness everyday comes from within yourself and not the things around you. Although doing and having things in your life will bring you joy and make you feel great, the real key to happiness is being able to think positively in any situation! When your mind starts to wander and you worry about making money....you create negative vibrations that go out into the Universe, thus attracting more worry instead of happiness! Does this make sense? We attract whatever it is that we are thinking about, so to truly be happy, you must first master your inner voice! Once you become aware of how you talk to yourself, you have the ability to tell yourself anything and the mind will believe it! Positive affirmations are a great tool to start with, gratitude is another fantastic way to shift your negative thoughts!
I just wrote a blog post the other day about gratitude....have a peak!

Here's to happy thoughts!
44 things to be grateful for | Learn to Be Happy and Transform Your Life)

[Ken Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Canadian

I never really got into drinking caffeine, thanks anyway though.
3.5 minutes.

You're welcome.

How about trying to extend the time in an exponential way?

Instead of just adding say 30 seconds each day, how about increasing by a percentage. For example, if you are doing 4 minutes right now, add perhaps 25%, so an extra 1 minute tomorrow. Then add 25% of 5 to get 6:15 the next day, 7:45 (roughly) the day after and so on.

The advantage to this exponential approach is that the time will increase rapidly to fill your day with happiness while still hopefully seeming just as difficult an increase as the day before. For example, once you're up to 4 hours the next day would be 5 hours.

Maybe 25% increase will be too rapid so you could adjust to what seems to work for you, perhaps only a 10% increase each day will work. You'll know, of course.

Wishing you continued and extended happiness,
Ken

[Canadian]

4 minutes. I can't say for sure how much this trial is affecting me, but some crazy-good things have happened to me lately (which I won't get into here). It could be a coincidence, but if it's a result from this trial then my mind would be blown.

Thanks very much for the reminder to stay positive, The Happy Mom, I need it. I used to focus too much on what I felt I was lacking. I know already that positive energy and being happy with what we have is very important, but every reminder helps greatly. The idea that positive thinking greatly impact the world around you makes perfect sense in theory (for example in regards to learning a new skill obviously a person excited about having the skill would learn it much quicker than a person who is frustrated with not having the skill). I knew for a long while that intellectually it makes perfect sense, but faster than ever before I'm starting to get real life results and starting to really feel how important it is.

Thanks for another suggestion, Ken. I won't choose it increase it exponentially for this trial, because part of the idea was for the whole thing to be incredibly easy for me considering I used to have a habit of over-committing to something too tough and giving up. But I will definitely keep the idea in mind and it might be appropriate for a trial in the future. I like the idea, it sounds good.

[TheEternalSunshine]

trying to fit in the meditation whenever I can during my day. I have also started listening to some positive thinking and affirmation podcast on my way to clinic and have found them very helpful. Like Canadian some good things are coming my way which I think is due to my positive attitude.

XXM