My Life After Retail

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to convince myself that I am happy but for some reason it has yet to sink in.  I truly believe if you have to say something out loud or convince someone of something, even yourself, then there is an issue at hand.  If you have to tell someone you love them over and over to reassure them then obviously you are not taking the necessary steps to show your affection.  The same is true in almost every aspect of life.  With that being the case I did an analysis of my life this morning.

There are many aspects of my life that almost every American desires – no boss, no set schedule, I can earn money from anywhere on the planet, a solid income, healthy, young, energetic.  I could go on and on but once again I will be attempting to convince myself that I am happy and full of life.  Looking from an outside perspective many of my friends and family members feel as if I live the dream life.  In all reality, I probably do but I have not been enjoying it over the last few weeks and possibly even months.

I went through a few personal issues this summer and these issues seem to be hanging on to me.  I feel as if I am completely over this issue but, once again, I am trying to convince myself of that rather than just letting it happen.  I truly believe I have the potential to live the dream life but I need to allow it to happen rather than dwell on things that I cannot control.

Today I am going to start an activity that I think will help you to increase happiness.  There is an activity or event that we all love to do.  Even if you are severely depressed there are still things that you enjoy.  The one caveat to this activity is it has to be an activity that you can do even if someone in particular does not want to do it with you.  You cannot say “I love going out to a movie with my ex-girlfriend.”  This is not helping you at all because all you are going to do is dwell on how you are not with her anymore and you wish you could go to a movie with her.  Going to movies with friends is acceptable though.

With that being the only rule now we will move on to the activity.  Sit down with a pencil and paper or on your personal computer and write down every little thing you can think of that makes you happy.  At first it might be hard to think of some ideas but check your email, look at the bookmarks on your internet browser, skim over old notes or even just look at your dvr’d shows.  I am sure these activities will spark some of the interests in your life.

While thinking about the things that make you happy do not limit yourself.  If you once spent a summer in France and you will never forget it then that is something that makes you happy!  It might take you awhile to compile the list but it will definitely be worth it once it has been complete.  Below you are going to find my list and the things that make me happy no matter who is involved;

• Giving and receiving advice about life
• Watching Lost
• Long “presence” walks – walks where I am completely in the moment, no past and no future thoughts
• Stock market analysis, especially looking at historical stock charts
• Driving my 2009 Audi a4
• Reading history of financial markets
• Eating a new type of food or at a new restaurant
• Sprinting – I was a former college track athlete
• Working out
• Reading Muscle Media
• Watching water flow through a riverbed
• Catching any fish on a dry fly
• Having intelligent conversations with anyone who has the entrepreneurial spirit
• Watching funny movies – The Hangover is the greatest movie ever
• Playing Risk
• Sitting at Westover Barber Shop and enjoying the conversation
• Reuniting with long lost friends
• Smiling
• Laughing until it hurts
• Researching Financial security
• Enjoying College Football Saturdays in the Fall
• Being mentally challenged
• Learning to cook new dishes
• Sitting and enjoying nature from a distance
• Stretching my body through yoga
• Meditating

This is just the beginning of my list and I will continue to come back to it over time.  The list you create is not even close to being complete.  Each time you find something new that makes you happy make sure to add it to your list.  By creating a free blog on wordpress or blogspot it will make it very easy to keep this entry updated.  Make sure that you do not lose your happiness solely in one other person; especially for this activity.  We have all been through heartbreak and that will ruin the entire activity if you happen to go through it.

I would suggest that every single day you do at least one of the activities on this list.  If you want to find true happiness throughout your day make sure to do several of these activities.  Obviously you will not be able to do every single activity but try to get them all in over a months period of time.  Going through a 30 day happiness period never hurt anyone.

When you feel down or even slightly depressed you can come back to your happiness list and think about all the things that cheer you up.  Sometimes it just takes a little reassurance that life is beautiful but once we figure it out all aspects of our lives with reverberate with joy and excitement.