I’ve decided to
take part in the NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month) which entails committing
to writing and posting a blog post every day throughout November. The biggest challenge for me is finding the
time and making it meaningful. There’s no
point blogging for the sake of it. I’ve
been struggling to come up with a strategy – mainly because it’s the holidays
and I’m trying to keep my lively little ones entertained as well. After several false starts, I’ve decided to
set myself the task of writing 30 steps towards Happiness and Contentment.
Despite my busy
and often stressful life (which is by no stretch of the imagination perfect), I
am generally happy and contented with my lot.
I decided to reflect on and share the things I think contribute towards
this and consider ways of developing it. It’s just my own
thoughts – it will help me to remind myself to focus on what is good in my life and maybe it will help others on
the way. So, come back
everyday over the month of November if you are interested in sharing this
journey with me.
Today my first
step is ...
Find the best in every day
But, despite that,
there were many good aspects of the day for which I think it would be more
useful to reflect on. The best moments
were:
- Seeing the beauty of the early morning mists over the valley on the way to the doctors
- The kindness of a friend who offered to watch the other children for me while I went
- The feeling of pride watching Luc lying calmly while his stitches were removed.
- Taking in the magnificent mountain views on the way to the park.
- Enjoying the warmth of the late October sun.
- Watching my children have fun
- Sharing time with friends
- Witnessing my 9 year old practicing negotiating skills with his younger siblings.
It’s useful to reflect on
the difficulties faced and consider ways to avoid them in the future, but
it’s far more uplifting to focus on the good things and there are always positive aspects of any given situation. I think from now on every day when I go to bed, I’ll concentrate
on finding the best moments of the day and go to sleep with these things in
mind, rather than going over the negative aspects. This will, in turn. set me up for a far more positive frame of mind for the following day.
How about you? What were the best moments of your day?
Here are the other posts in this series:
Step 30 - The Key to Happiness and Contentment
Step 29 -You are the master of your own destiny
Step 28 - Don't give up on a good relationship
Step 27 - Don't Judge , Live and let live
Step 26 - Don't Worry, by happy
Step 25 - Never give up
Step 24 - Get by with a little help from your friends
Step 23 - Go with the Flow
Step 22 - Enjoy the moment
Step 21 - Love what you do
Step 20 - Forgive and Forget
Step 19 - Unconditional giving
Step 18 - Smile and the world smiles with you
Step 17 - Work to live, don't live to work
Step 16 - Surround yourself with Positive People
Step 15 - Always look on the bright side of life
Step 14 - Where there's a will there's a way
Step 13 - Silence is Golden
Step 12 - Feed your Soul
Step 11 - Follow your Dreams
Step 10 - Use your time wisely
Step 9 - Don't be too hard on yourself
Step 8 - Consider what you value most
Step 7 - Find time for Yourself
Step 6 - Make time for Family and Friends
Step 5 - Don't take yourself too Seriously
Step 4 - Feel the Fear and do it Anyway
Step 3 - Love what you Hate
Step 2 - There's no such word as CAN''T
Step 1 - Find the Best in Every Day
Highlight of my day today was hearing my kids sing in school assembly this morning. It always gives me a lift.
ReplyDeleteYes that's a good one Debbie. Thanks for dropping by.
ReplyDeleteWhenever we are on holiday (and sometimes when we are not) we get together at bedtime and we talk about the highlights of our day.... it's always fascinating what the kids come up with - usually something you've hardly noticed. It's a great thing to do and really makes you focus on the positive. What a lovely start to NaBloPoMo Nikki ;-) Fiona
ReplyDeleteI really like your approach to NaNoWriMo, I'll definitely be back here. Happiness and contentment is something that occupies me a lot too. Earlier this year I did a 'three beautiful things' mini blog where I listed three great moments from each day. It was really valuable for helping me see the positives when I was having hard days with two kids under 3.
ReplyDeleteToday we went to the Botanic Garden and saw some beautiful autumn leaves. My now-three-year-old told me "Mummy, I feel really happy" - what could be better than that?
Thanks for that Fiona, what a great idea - I'm going to try this with my children tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Kirsty - it's lovely when the little ones come out with gems like that. 'Three beautiful things' mini blog sounds like a good idea too. I'll have to come and have a look :)
Ooo inspiring, I can surely write about something happy that happened on each day, it will serve as a great memory as well, like a diary!
ReplyDeleteCute children btw!
Couldn't agree with you more, it's like whether you look on the glass as being half full or half empty. A few years ago we went through some really hard times and I, who am a natural pessimist, made a conscious decision to become a half full person. It was quite difficult at first but now looking on the bright side seems to be pretty automatic and I take huge enjoyment from the small things in life, like the changing colours and having a reasonably comprehensible conversation with my neighbour who has an almost impenetrable accent.
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela and Victoria. It seems the more you look for the postives, the easier it becomes. I suppose you could call me a recovering pessismist. Nowadays I am usually optimistic, but occasionally a bit of pessimism creeps in and I need to give myself a kick. Finding the best in every day is a good way of doing it :)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for the m onth of blogs - I'll be reading you daily :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Midlife Singlemum :)
ReplyDelete