Need more “happy” in your life? Me too.
Lately my life has consisted of longer and longer lists of things that I need to do, and as the list grows, my motivation shrinks.
Sure I can rely on discipline, but honestly just hearing the word reminds me of my elementary school principal’s office. He had a large wooden boat oar (complete with holes drilled in it and a sawed-off handle) prominently displayed on the wall of his office. The rumor floating around school was that the holes made the air move faster so it hurt more when you were paddled with it. (Yes, I grew up in the days when corporal punishment was used in school.)
Sometimes that list of stuff that I’m supposed to do–exercise, eat veggies, floss my teeth, clean my toilet–reminds me of that boat oar and I have a distinctly unpleasant reaction.
It’s true that there are times when I need discipline in my life to make me do hard things. The problem is that when my life becomes consumed with the lists of things that I “should’ do rather than things that I want to do, I become very unmotivated and when I am unmotivated it is very difficult to get anything done.
To counteract this soul-killing cycle I will be instituting “Happiness Week” this week!
For the next 7 days I will meet my basic responsibilities like feeding the kids and doing laundry, but in between I will be dumping the “shoulds” and adding some “want to’s”.
So here is my plan for this week:
Sleep late.
Picnic in the park (even though we have to bundle up).
Visit the Botanical Gardens.
Snuggle my kids.
Watch movies.
Eat cookies.
Hopefully after a week of enjoying life more, I will be restored and refreshed and I can return to the to do list.
Would you like to join me for “Happiness Week”? Leave a comment and let me know how you will be celebrating. 🙂
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Wow, I feel SO unmotivated this week and am also ready to throw my “to-do lists” out the window. I’m going to give this a try!
My 16 month old son has been Captain Whiney lately, and I am just worn down! I’ve spent the last 1 1/2 hours of his nap doing fun things. 🙂 I feel better already!
It’s so nice to hear that someone else is enduring this and has a fun solution! Thanks!
Fun is good!!!!!!!! 🙂
Love this idea. My husband & I are so burned out from work. And then after work the to do list is just miles long. Some days even though we see each other daily it feels like I miss him so much like he’s been gone for weeks instead of hours. We are just so busy there hasn’t been any real time together as a family. This article was such an inspiration. Thank you
You are very welcome Alysia!
Great post! Maybe it’s because I am old and also don’t have children.. but having had very poor heath (shallow end of the gene pool stuff) for the last 2 decades I have found that every day i can balance a “should” with a “want” makes for a more peaceful joyful me. One of the battles for me is when a “want” shifts to a “should”. Then it’s time for a break, a reevaluation of priorities and prayer. For example, when reading my bible shifts to the “should” list in my heart and mind, I stop the busy stuff (my should list) and listen to some teachings online from various sources available (there are tons!). I stop, take an hour break, get tea and break open the Word with my online source.. It reminds me not to confuse my “wants” and ” shoulds”, it re invigorates my heart and feels relaxing. Kimberlee, you’ve chosen a great way to “reboot”; getting away from the rut you’ve made, getting some fresh air and MOVING are all great “feeling blue” busters! Have a terrific week! Today is a blue buster for me too, going for a long drive to visit old friends! God Bless ;o)
Really great insight Barbara–thank you so much for sharing that!
I am sorta having a happiness week at home too. We live in Florida and my husband left yesterday morning headed to Virginia to help clear power lines so the utility companies can start restoring power. They are saying he will be gone approx 3 weeks. (Besides the fact we have NEVER been apart this long) My kids are 2 and 3, so we will be doing as little cooking as possible while he is away, in an effort to ease some of the work load.
I am so sorry that your husband has to be away for so long, but I know that lots of people are grateful for the work he will be doing! I hope you have a peaceful and happy couple of weeks!
A big thank you to your hubby, although we havn’t lost power we are thankful for the help. After this summer in VA & the windstorm we are all on pins & needles about loosing power. Hopefully he won’t have to be gone that long.
Hang in there Jennifer! My husband also left yesterday to head for Virginia to help set up generators due to the power loss. This is our third national disaster and it can be stressful. My five year old also keeps seeing things on the news and it worries him. But we do a lot of things to try to make it fun! I usually let my son plan the dinner menu and he thinks this is really cool. I may even suggest cookies for dinner tonight! I will be praying for you!
Thanks yall! This is our first “severe storm” since he started this company doing line clearing for power companies. I keep reading and seeing pictures of the horror stories, and it makes me nervous.
Think I might do a progressive dinner this week…dessert firsst! What an excellent plan to intentionally add some happy to our days/weeks!
I love this idea!
I’m in! My to-do list has gotten out of hand. I’m calling Dominos for dinner & relaxing on the couch with the kiddos!
sounds like a good plan to me:)
I love it! It’s a great idea and I just might join you! I’m about to bake cookies for dinner, how bout that?
Cookies for dinner–brilliant!
LOL……you girls make me laugh….Hows that for happiness 🙂
Sounds good!!
For the record, I had to sign papers stating that my kids could not be paddled at their schools in New Mexico. It is still legal in some states if you can believe it!
Maybe think of discipline like the quote I saw this morning – ” Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten.” – G.K. Chesterton
Hope it helps – now, to go defeat the laundry dragon lurking in the basement. =)
Wow! I had no idea that corporal punishment was allowed in any public school. I do like that quote and I will go back to fighting the dragons next week. 🙂
Corporal punishment is still allowed here in Arkansas. When my two oldest were in school, I had signed papers saying they could not be given corporal punishment. I had no idea what it was when I moved here 22 years ago. I came from the Chicago area, where corporal punishment did not happen.
We are taking a little “fall break” from homeschool part of this week to fit in some things we want to do also. Today is just laying around cuddling and watching movies since one of them got a stomach bug last night.
A trip to the zoo and a trip to play at the park is on the list for the rest of the week.
I’m in! Sounds like a much needed, soul satisfying weekly schedule. Blessings!
Megan