Loving Life! (Photo credit: Grace Church)
Week #16 – Can you say “I love my life!” (One surefire way to make sure you can in 2015!)
Many of us have been looking back over the past year, reflecting on all the changes, the highs, the lows, what happened, what went wrong, and how we can fix it in 2015.
But it’s hard to love your life when it’s so easy to look back and come up with all the bad things that happened. Hell — while reviewing my own year I forgot about starting this website and blogging for the first time (something I’ve been wanting to do for years!). Those two wins got eclipsed (momentarily) by one very significant loss. Afterall, it’s easy to get stuck on the losses…but we have to balance them with what we’ve gained. We have to, as our friend Rob Nicholson said in a recent Facebook post, “keep moving forward and celebrate and revel in what we have!”
So I want to do something different. I want to look ahead…WAY ahead. To December 31st of THIS year. It’s only 365 days away. Oops…364 now! What will it take to say on that day, “I love my life?”
I know one thing for sure…it will take REMINDERS!
Your assignment this week: Don’t count on yourself to remember everything about the year come December 31st. Make a plan to curate the wins just as much as the losses. Come up with a system for recording your achievements, successes, highlights, and otherwise happy times THROUGHOUT the year ahead! The most obvious way is to keep a dated list — in a journal, on your computer, via email, or on your phone — where you take time each day to review your activities and take note of anything special or significant. I keep a running list by date and habitually recount the day’s activities. To be honest, most days it’s pretty mundane — but the habit assures that when something notable happens I’m going to capture and remember it. Recently though, I’ve seen and heard about some other very creative ideas:
- I’ve seen a Gratitude Tree — write what you’re grateful for on little shapes and fill an inside tree or wall mural up throughout the year (works in classrooms, too!).
- I heard of photo-journaling — use cell-phone photos in a specific file or on Instagram to keep track of accomplishments.
- But my favorite has been the Joy Jar or Happiness Jar! The idea is simple: you start on January 1st (okay, 2nd) with an empty jar in a prominent location in your home — and you start dropping notes in it throughout the year about things that went well, things that make you happy, things you’re grateful for, achieved, or accomplished. At the end of the year you have a personal collection of happy memories to review — or immediate access throughout the year when you need a lift to face a challenge! One woman even collaged them on a monthly basis as a type of word-cloud to record as a journal.
The possibilities are endless — but the idea is the same: make it a point to collect the good stuff! Because we need more of that. More focus on the wins. More focus on what’s right. More focus on loving our lives — so that we can live our lives more fully.
I want us to say, “I love my life!” in 2015. I want to yell it together — from wherever we are — at midnight next New Year’s Eve! And I want a plan in place to do it! Who’s with me?!
Spread Happyness — share your ideas, thoughts, or suggestions for tracking your accomplishments — or pledge to yell “I love my life!” in the comments!
1/2/15 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
I did a year in review video for 2014, and in looking through my photos, there were several things which happened but I forgot about until then. I love photography and will continue to document life through it, but I also recognize the importance of words to support those images, and that sometimes a happy moment isn’t a photographic moment. So I have my 2015 Happyness jar on my counter, already with two pieces of paper in it. We’re off to a good start!
Happy Friday, Gina! Loved your video — and I found your suggestion to look back through my phone at my pictures very helpful! But most of all — I love your Happyness Jar! Anyone else fixing up a jar for 2015?!
Great ideas, Grace. I may just get a jar going. I would be fun to read through it next New Year’s eve with the kiddos. Thanks, and Happy New Year to you.
Shelley
Thanks for visiting, Shelley! And for taking the time to leave a comment! So good to hear from you! Yes — it would be a great project to share with kids or as a family…great idea! Happy New Year to you and yours!
Looking for my jar as soon as I’m done typing this! Thank you, and Happy New Year!!
Great to hear from you, Jeanette! Seems that the jars are definitely the favorite so far! Happy New Year to you and your beautiful family!
Reading today’s post gave me a very strange sensation, a dejavu (sp?) experience. Visiting with a friend today we shared experiences when powerful feelings invaded us, compelling us to ‘take action’ I was reminded of the outcomes that occurred when I honored the nudging. It was all good but, the opposite was true when I ignored the urges. I thought of my life in recent times. How would life be different; improved when I embrassed the ‘inner voice’, the Holy Spirit and took action. So, yes, I am finally getting to the point. On my way home I decided to purchase 2 clear glass display containers. As everyone knows I love seashells, glass colored marbles and river rocks. Each time I take a truly positive step or resist negative thoughts something beautiful will be placed in the container. Of course, the other cotainer will house something ugly as a reminder that nothing beautiful can come from ugly thoughts and actions…just like cancer it will rob me of the life God intends for all of us. I need to come up with something distasteful like cigarette butts. Suggestions?
Happy and God driven New Year.
Happy New Year, Anne! Thank you so much for the comment! I love the idea of adding something beautiful to the container for each beautiful thought, feeling or action — and it’s very interesting too the idea of having an identical container to acknowledge or control ugly thoughts/actions. Hmmm…but what is so ugly that it could be used to represent that? AH! Write the thought/feeling/action on a piece of paper and burn it! Keep the ashes in the container — and then do something creative with them or release them at the end of the year?! Also — love your sign-off!
Grace I love this, I have also heard about the jar with little notes! This fits Rob to a T, the one thing he did was love life and he definitely embraced it. I miss Rob and I’s conversations when he would drive home from your house so many times! Keep this up I ❤️ it. Happy New Years
Happy New Year to you, Pammy! We miss him too…that’s for sure! But yes, he loved life and I know he loved talking to you! Thanks for the encouragement and the check-in…I really appreciate it!