Get Happy

I'll admit I have been a bit of a grump lately. I'm sorry everybody that has had to put up with my Negative Nancy behavior. I've just been in such a bad mood that I couldn't seem to shake it. So I sat down and wrote a couple things that always make me happy. I feel like I'm perking back up.

 Thank heavens! 

1. Listen to music.
This is always my number one go-to feel better trick. I even have a playlist on Spotify specialy made for cheering me up. My Happy Playlist

2. Take a walk around the block.
Some days at work can be so stressful that I just want to cry or scream or a combination of both. Those are the days that I find it especially important to take a walk during lunch. There is a nice little loop that I can walk around the buildings that clocks in at about a little over a mile and it's the perfect way to calm down and take a break.

3. Do a quick exercise routine.
Elle Woods said it best "Exercise gives you endorphins.  Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands" A quick little workout sometimes is all it takes to turn that frown upside down. My favorite quick workout is this one from thinfithot.tumblr.com

4. Phone a friend.
Sometimes all it takes to cheer me up is a familiar loving voice. That's when I call my best friend or my mom. They both know exactly what to say to make me feel better. Or as my mom sometimes says "wake up and stop feeling sorry for yourself."

5. Count your blessings.
When I'm in a really terrible mood I don't want to sit down and think about all the good in my life. I just want to dwell on what's making me mad. But it's always so much better to think about the positive. Even better if I write down a couple things that are particularly great at the moment and realize that life is pretty great.

6. Take a nap.
Other times I just want to give up. When things are that bad it's best if I just take a nap. My bad mood is probably coming from a lack of sleep anyways. I'm not normally one who can take a mid-day nap but when I do you'll know it was because of a particularly terrible day.

7. Drink a cup of tea.
I'm not really all that crazy about tea but I do have to give some credit to Sheldon Cooper when he said "Social protocol states when a friend is upset, you offer them a hot beverage, such as tea." It really does a bit of cheering up when I'm down.

8. Go outside.
Just being outside feels good when the sun is shining. Take a blanket and a good book and just sit outside in the sunshine and read.

9. Take a hot shower.
Pretty self explanatory. Showers are awesome.

10. Take a deep breath.
When I don't have any time to actually do any of these little tricks all I can do is take a deep breath. In through the nose out through the mouth. Just a couple of times and I'm a little calmer and can think a little straighter.

What do you do to cheer up, get happy, or get rid of stress?

My Happiness Project

I began writing this post yesterday fully ready to talk about my happiness project so far but I was having such a bad day. When a client yells at you so loudly in the hall that another client has to come out and calm him down you don't really feel like talking about being happy. Yesterday was just a bad day and I just didn't want to be happy, so instead of going to Zumba last night and getting a good workout in I decided to stay home, drink wine, and eat Chinese food (not the best choice). When I woke up this morning, mad at myself for skipping Zumba and consuming far too many calories instead or burning them, it hit me. I could allow my  bad day to continue and then just let it get worse or I can force myself to go to the gym, perk up and ultimately be happy.

  So as I continue my Happiness Project that I started in my last post, I began organizing my cluttered life. In Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project January is all about vitality, becoming more energized and therefore getting more accomplished. I started this week off by tackling a couple of organizational issues around my apartment that have been bothering me. 

First I started off by cleaning up my vanity. I had recently seen a pin on Pinterest about using an ice cube tray for earring storage. Well I don't have an ice cube tray but I do have a clean, empty egg carton. I cut the top part off and slid it in my drawer. I sorted all my stud earrings and placed them in their own compartment of the egg carton. I also took all bobby pins and small hair clips and placed them in an old Altoids tin.

Then I began to "tackle a nagging task." I gathered all of my important documents, from my birth certificate, to anything required for tax season, to my monthly bills and filed them away in a milk crate from Office Depot. I even included a calendar so that I can mark my paydays and the days that all bills are due. 

In The Happiness Project Gretchen created twelve commandments to follow to increase her happiness. I might just want to add one. "Live in the now." Too many times I look back and think "Wow! Last year at this time I was having so much fun and now my life just isn't as great." But when I really think about it, that's probably not true at all and right now is pretty great. I just need to appreciate things as they are happening, rather than months later missing it. 

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful, wild & crazy New Year's Eve!

I know that everyone is talking about what they are doing for their resolutions. Weight loss, quit smoking, walk more, they're all common resolutions people make every year. What I need this year is a complete shake up. A total 180 overhaul. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It has inspired me to start my own Happiness Project as my resolution.

I am in desperate need for a Happiness Project. I am rapidly approaching a quarter life crisis. I am terminally single and all of my friends are getting married and having kids (on purpose). I swear if I see one more engagement announcement I might go lose it. 

Having recently moved 3,000 miles from my hometown, I don't know anyone and working 8+ hours a day (realistically it's more like 9.5 hours) I hardly have time to go out and meet new people.

(For a better explanation of a quarter life crisis check this out. He's hilarious and completely spot on. In fact, I just recently bought myself a new Jeep without having any idea that it had anything to do with the fact that I am experiencing a quarter life crisis.)

Isn't she beautiful? I can't wait to take her to Lake Tahoe.

Gretchen Rubin outlined The Happiness Project by using each month as a different goal. January is probably the easiest month to follow, at least I think so.  

            

Go to sleep earlier.

Exercise better.
Toss, restore, organize.
Tackle a nagging task.
Act more energetic.

 I started by tackling my sleep process. There are far too many things that light up my room at night so I've started using an eye mask.  

I feel so very Audrey.

As for exercising, I'm off to Zumba tonight. I absolutely love Zumba and kick myself every week for skipping it but I resolve to make at least one class a week. As for organizing I will post all my pictures of the crazy OCD organizing that I've begun this week. The only negative I've had so far is that when I tried to accomplish the "Act more energetic" resolution I decided to down an extra large coffee this morning and now I'm all jittery and hyper. 

Are you planning on using some of Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project Resolutions this year? Is anyone else feeling the crash of a quarter life crisis? Girl, keep me posted and maybe we can get through it together.