Kicking Off a Year of Happiness

Today is my 29^th birthday! And with this birthday, I’m kicking off a year of happiness. I’m going to spend my last year of my 20s focused on bringing happiness into my life.

The idea started because I read Gretchen Rubin’s book “The Happiness Project”. She spent a year focusing on bringing happiness into her life. I’m not Gretchen Rubin. My happiness project is not really like hers. She had charts, resolutions, commandments, secrets of adulthood, splendid truths, and monthly themes. I think that’s a great idea, but it’s not me. I’ve been thinking for the last month of how I want to do my happiness project, what is my version. How can I bring happiness into the life of Beans? I think I finally figured it out.

First, resolutions (I need some of these): These are things I want to improve in my life. I’m still working on my list of these and it might change as time goes on, but this is what I have so far:

1.       Exercise, even just walking, 5 days a week

2.       Improve relationships with my family by

a.       Spending time with my nieces and nephews

b.       Remembering birthdays

c.       Calling family more frequently

3.       Get up at a consistent time every morning

4.       Do 5 self care things a week

5.       Improve my daily prayers

6.       Blog more often

Also kind of resolutions that I think deserve their own categories are the following:

1.       Keep a happiness journal. This is a journal focused on things that bring me happiness in my life. Part of this is a daily 1 sentence journal (this I DID steal from “The Happiness Project”, at least kind of). Every day I’m going to write the happiest thing that happened to me that day. In other sections of the journal I’ll include other things that I find, write, do, etc that bring me happiness. For example, all I asked for this year for my birthday was letters from friends and family. Those will be put in this journal. 

 

2.       Read a book each month written by an inspiring woman. I was going to just do inspiring person, but I think I’m going to limit it to women for this year. I want to empower myself and feel connected to these amazing, strong women who have done various things. I’m still compiling this list. My goal is to let you know each month which book I read and what I thought. Oh, the book has to be nonfiction. So, even though I LOVE JK Rowling and find her incredibly inspiring, I can’t read Harry Potter. I have a list of inspiring women who’ve written nonfiction books that were recommended to me. I’m still open to suggestions. So, if you think there’s something I HAVE to read, let me know (if I don’t read it this year, or for this project, it’ll go on my list of recommended books and I will probably get around to it someday).

The BIGGEST think I’m doing this year though, is “30 Things to Do Before I’m 30”.  I have a list of 30 things that I want to accomplish this year. Some of them are silly, like do yoga outdoors while the sun rises. Others are things I’ve wanted to do my entire life, like finish the first draft to a book (this one will be the most challenging thing on the list). If I don’t hit all of these, I won’t beat myself up about it, but I’m going to try REALLY hard to get them all!

First thing on that list: dye my hair blue and purple.

I did a whole photo shoot today. I'm LOVING the new look!

 

I kind of cheated with this one. I technically dyed my hair yesterday, but I feel like it’s kicking off this amazing year, so I’m including it anyway. I may include a bonus item at some other point, but either way, I’m counting this.

Anyway, I’m LOVING my blue and purple hair! It makes me so happy every time I see it. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, had plans to do it in August (even crazier plans then!) but it fell through. It’s ok though: I kind of like the timing. I get my crazy awesome hair to kick of my amazing year of happiness. It seems fitting.  Here’s another picture just because I love it so much.



This was a more candid shot my husband took. It's one of my favorites!

Below is my list of 30 things to do before I’m 30 (in no particular order, besides the first one). Every time I accomplish one of these goals, I’ll write a post. Or at least I plan to. I might combine some posts. But I plan on documenting all of these. As I do, I’ll cross it off the list. Good news is I only have 29 more fun things to do before I’m 30! :D

I hope you follow along this year as I try to make my life happier. I don’t plan to ONLY blog about this. I still want to focus on other issues, but I see this as directly related to my mental health battle. Anxiety is here. Depression will come again. But if I can bring even just a tiny bit of happiness into those days that the world feels like it’s falling apart, it’ll be just that much more bearable.

 

30 Things To Do Before I’m 30

1.       Dye hair blue and purple

2.       See a professional (or university level) musical

3.       Teach a massage class

4.       Give talk/speech about mental health

5.       Hike a tall mountain (preferably Mt. Timp)

6.       Attend a temple I’ve never been to before

7.       Go through all my belongings (Get rid of stuff!)

8.       Reach a healthy weight

9.       Finish the first draft of a book

10.   Finish reading the bible

11.   Earn $1,000 (gross) with massage business

12.   Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter

13.   Sew shirts based on my favorite casual shirt

14.   Write to 2 of my favorite authors

15.   Knit a pair of socks

16.   Grow a plant from a seed

17.   Learn to cook fried eggs (different ways)

18.   Draw or paint a self portrait

19.   Bake a lemon meringue pie

20.   Eat at a fancy restaurant

21.   Go to a professional haunted house

22.   Find a name for the temple

23.   Go somewhere new (new city)

24.   Sing a solo in public

25.   Read a book in German

26.   Do yoga outdoors as sun rises

27.   Have either

a.       A girl’s weekend somewhere

b.       A solo trip not just to visit family/friends

28.   Take a community class to learn something new

29.   Try a new food (not just a new recipe)

30.   Do 30 random acts of kindness