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About a year and a half ago, a woman named Joyce Saltman came to speak to our department. She�s one of those "motivational" speakers, but unlike most of the ones I�ve seen, she was actually a lot of fun to listen to, and had something to say that was worth an hour of my time. One of her suggestions involved making a list of 20 things that make you happy. They don�t need to be big things�little things actually work better for this purpose. Then she told us to start working toward doing all 20, every day. She said not to be surprised if we start off realizing we only do two or three. That�s okay, she said�it gives us something to work toward. She told us she does about 18 of hers consistently, every single day. A couple times each week, she hits all 20.
I sat down, pen and paper in hand, to make my list. No one told me how hard it was going to be to come up with 20 things that make me happy. I really had to stretch. That struck me as pretty sad. My life isn�t that joyless. Twenty isn�t really that many. But it took me several days�DAYS�to come up with a solid list. For a while, I actually followed it. I got up to 8-10 things each day. Then, like so many things, it stopped being something I thought about. I�d only check my list a couple times a week, then two weeks went by without my checking it at all, then it was "Joyce WHO?"
I�m feeling the need to start again. So here�s my first attempt at making a list of 20 things that make me happy:
1. Writing in this journal
2. Talking to my mom
3. Waking up with the Boyfriend (those few minutes between when the alarm goes off and when I get up to shower are my favorite part of the day)
4. Dry sugar cereal, hot popcorn or peanut butter crackers as a snack
5. A really hot cup of tea, or occasionally a hot chocolate or hot cider. This gets extra happy points if it�s a cup of tea I drink while sitting and talking to my mom
6. A good, long, hot bath, complete with a Lush bath ballistic (if you�re saying "a what," go to http://www.lushcanada.com and get yourself some of the best bath stuff on earth. I especially recommend the "waving not drowning" bath bomb and the "silky underwear" powder)
7. A thorough stretch
8. Dinner with Chris
9. Chilling out in front of some cheezy TV
10. Strawberries and Cream Cream Savers from Life Savers
11. Reading before bed
12. Getting an email from Brian
13. Real, hold-in-your-hand, non-bill mail
14. Sitting in the hammock (sadly, this is a seasonal happy thing. Too cold out to do this one right now, not enough room in the house to bring it in)
15. Hanging out with my friend Carla and her son
16. Candlelight-as-a-sole-lighting-source
17. Wearing the cozy fleece slippers the Boyfriend gave to me last Christmas. They�re like sweaters for your feet
18. Sitting on my couch and looking at my newly-cleaned apartment
19. My favorite-song-of-the-moment turned up really loud on the radio
20. The key lime pie at the Centre Street Caf�
Okay, so I was reaching with the key lime pie thing, but I wanted to make a 20-item list, and it DOES make me happy! Once again, I�m amazed at how hard a time I had coming up with 20 happy things. I�m going to have to be more aware.
What makes you happy? Why don�t you do it more often?
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