Do you ever wonder if your house has a black hole? I swear ours does. The latest thing sucked into the dark vortex of our home is an entire bag of hats that went missing during the annual switch over from summer to winter clothes. All of my best hats went missing, which means we’ve had to rely on our collection of “funny hats” this winter.
I like wearing funny hats, but I usually just wear them when I take the dogs for a walk or out on the lake. They’re warm, and they usually bring a smile to people’s faces. (Well, I’m not sure if it’s a smile or a grimace on Dave’s face, but we’ll go with the smile.)
Here is a picture of me in my favourite funny hat, my Elmo hat my girlfriend Elaine gave me for my birthday last year and a few more pics from a funny hat fashion show Clare and I put on yesterday. Hope it makes you smile.
This week’s #HappyAct is to wear a funny hat and keep warm.
New Years. A time for fresh beginnings and strengthened resolve. My New Year’s resolution for 2015 is the same as last year—to lose some weight and get more fit, but this year I have a specific goal in mind—to lose 20 lbs before I go to Ireland in July with my girlfriends.
I was thinking the other day about what I need to do different ths time to actually succeed for a change and I had a bit of an epiphany. I realized that instead of stopping bad habits, I need to focus on creating new habits. I’m not sure if these new habits are going to make me happy, but I know I will be happy if I achieve my goal.
Here are five new habits I am going to adopt to lose weight:
Fill up my water glass and drink more water every afternoon at work.
Make homemade soups on Sunday for yummy leftover lunches all week.
Have a mid-afternoon snack at work, focusing on mufas. Mufas are monounsaturated fats like avocado, nuts and seeds, oils, olives and dark chocolate and are great for fighting belly fat. I read a book last year on mufas from the editors of Prevention magazine, and it was one of the better nutrition and lifestyle books I’ve read. You can read more about mufas and the flat belly diet here. There are some great recipes on this site too.
Take the stairs when I don’t have a hot coffee or laptop in my hand. If you’ve never read Mireille Guiliano’s book French women don’t get fat, read it. I saw in Indigo the other day she has a new book, French women don’t get facelifts which looks great. Check out her website.
Hop on the exercise bike while I’m watching my weekly reality TV fix every Monday night, The Bachelor (new season starts tomorrow!)
Finally, I’m going to join the weight loss challenge at work that starts January 12.
This week’s #HappyAct is to become a creature of new habits. What new habits will you adopt this year to help you achieve your goals? Good luck everyone!
In keeping with the time-old tradition of looking back at the best and worst of in 2014, I thought I would share my Top 10 Happy Acts of 2014. These are posts that are my personal favourites that are worth resharing in case you missed them. (Let’s make it eleven, for that “extra push over the cliff” (movie trivia–know the reference? See the end of the post for the answer.) Don’t miss last week’s post from guest blogger Craig from Today’s Chapter, Christmas sweaters, me stuff and Father Time—great post, Craig, my number eleven!
Thanks for following my little blog and joining me each week in doing one happy act and sharing the happy. Happy New Year everyone.
What was your favourite happy act in 2014? Leave a comment. Trivia answer: Famous line from This is Spinal Tap, the rockumentary when character Nigel Tufnel shows off his amplifier and explains why the controls go to 11 instead of 10.
“Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and…
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it’s louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it’s one louder, isn’t it? It’s not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Hi there. I should probably introduce myself, I’m Craig from Todays Chapter. Don’t worry, Laurie will be back next Sunday, but she has kindly offered to hand over the reins for a guest post. I’m a huge fan of Happy Act and Laurie’s thoughtful weekly advice to achieve happiness, so I’m fully aware just how big these shoes are to fill. Here goes nothing…
There is phrase often used when talking about personal finances, “Pay yourself first”. The basic concept is before you try to pay down debts or buy new things, you should carve out a little something for the ‘you’ of the future. It’s generally agreed that for this to be effective it should be done automatically, not something you consciously have to decide to do each payday. Money is finite but the list of things to buy with it is seemingly endless, so you should carve out a chunk to put aside before you blow it on that hand-knitted Christmas sweater that suddenly seems like an essential purchase.
Not important stuff
While I am terrible at paying myself first financially, I am a strong believer in applying this concept to my time. Just like money, time is a finite resource that needs to be carefully managed to achieve your goals. Unlike money you can’t earn more of it. This means we all try to cram more and more into a day.
As a new parent I particularly felt this strain. Overnight my time became someone else’s. In my initial panic to keep our darling daughter alive and happy, I stopped going to the gym; there simply wasn’t time. Then I stopped reading, then writing, then sleeping and showering. I did all of this for good reason, but the net result was a happy baby and a tired, stinky and grumpy Daddy. I’d forgotten to pay myself first. When I finally figured this out it seemed so obvious, but at the time it didn’t seem that way at all.
The solution was simple. I carve out 30 minutes a day just for me. Each day I figure out what to ‘spend’ it on, sometimes it’s a nap, others a blog post. I even manage to occasionally sneak in some video games. The other 23.5 hours a day are to spend on ‘stuff’, but that 0.5 is all mine. The difference that simple change makes is staggering, I feel like a new person. I have transformed into a tired, stinky but happy Daddy!
My advice to achieve happiness is simple, pay yourself first. Carve out a tiny slice of your day and make it all yours, then fill it with whatever makes you happy. Make this a habit, not something you do every now and again, because if you don’t you will always find other ‘stuff’ to spend that time on.
Ok, that’s it, I’m handing the controls back to our resident happiness guru. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy a new Christmas sweater…
When Thomas Edison first hung a string of incandescent lights outside his laboratory in New York in 1880 so commuters on a passing train could see them, they called it the wizard’s light show.
As the Winter Solstice approaches, and the days grow shorter, we turn to lights to brighten the darkness and warm our hearts.
I was in Montreal this week, and even though there was a raging snowstorm, it was beautiful with magnificent wreaths, statues and lights gracing many of the buildings.
Every year, Regent Street in London lights up. Here’s this year’s lighting ceremony on Regent Street. Even though I’ve never been lucky enough to attend the Regent Street festivities in person, I watch it online each year. My favourite was the year Nokia sponsored the display and made the lights interactive, so the crowd could control the lighting. Watch this amazing video of how they created the Unity Nokia Regent Street light display that year.
For those of us in Eastern Ontario, Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg is a must-see. We went last year and it was magical. The entire historical village is lit up, and you can take a horse-drawn carriage ride or simply stroll through the streets admiring the lights and light shows timed to music.
Whether you live in a big city, small town or in the country, this week’s #HappyAct is to get out and brighten your night by looking at the lights of the season. For more information on the history of Christmas lights, read this interesting article.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m lucky to work with some of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet. Our work is as hectic as the next place—seems there is no down time these days. They call it the “new normal”. But in December, we make time to celebrate the season and each other’s company.
Some of the traditions we’ve started is helping to pack hampers for the Salvation Army as a team, writing hand-written personal cards, and of course, lots of holiday treats, goodies and a potluck.
This year the gang wanted to do something different than our ordinary gift exchange, and we landed on Secret Santa. We drew names (well, we actually had to draw twice since Jessica put her name on every slip the first time), and for the next two weeks, we are going to delight the person whose name we drew with little surprises to make their day. It’s been so much fun thinking of what I can do for my Secret Santa friend. I can’t wait until the 19th when we have our potluck, exchange gifts and have our “secret Santa reveal”.
This week’s #HappyAct is to be a secret Santa to somebody. Surprise them with a little gift, treat or card telling them how great they are, decorate their cubicle or hang an ornament on their front porch. Embrace the spirit of giving. Let the merriment begin.
One of my favourite holiday traditions is counting down the days to Christmas with an advent calendar. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It heralds the time to deck the halls, write cards and prepare for the joyous holiday season.
I think I’ve always liked the activities leading up to Christmas more than Christmas itself. I can’t remember ever not having an advent calendar in the house to help build that excitement and anticipation.
I remember years ago backpacking through Europe with my girlfriend June after university. It was December and we were visiting her uncle Ian Kerr in Aberdeen, Scotland. Ian had an advent calendar, and for the days we visited with him, we celebrated by opening up a door a day. For years after, Ian and I exchanged Christmas cards and his message would always be the same—“time to start the advent calendar”. (Ian Kerr from Aberdeen if you’re out there and reading this blog, drop me a line).
This week’s #HappyAct is to buy an advent calendar and open a door a day from now until Christmas. Discover the magic of the season and the chocolate treat behind the door.
When I first started this blog, I said there was no secret to happiness. Rather, happiness was a state of being and to be happy, you had to do happy acts and seek joy in every day moments.
Well, after a year of #HappyActs, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I lied.
I believe there is a secret to happiness, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon this pearl of wisdom a few years ago while reading a bathroom book in a bookstore in Chatham, Massachussetts.
The premise of the book was simple: in order to be happy, you need to have low expectations. I remember laughing when I first read that because it goes against everything we are taught, which is to be ambitious, set goals, and have high expectations. But the stark truth and simplicity of this philosophy slowly started to sink in and I have tried to live by this adage ever since.
Have you ever wondered why on sites like TripAdvisor, you read a review of someone who stayed at the same hotel or bed and breakfast as you did, and you thought the place was just fine, but they panned it? It all comes down to expectations.
If you have low expectations, you will always be happy with your lot in life. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set goals and work towards them. On the contrary, anyone will tell you having goals and dreams is critical to having a purpose and feeling fulfilled in life.
Let’s take the example of an Olympic athlete to illustrate this point. Olympic athletes set lofty goals: to be the best in their sport, medal and to be standing on that podium. They work extremely hard to get there, making huge sacrifices to see this dream come true. But when you hear them interviewed, their expectations can be very different—they may expect to finish in the top 10, or beat their best time. And when they don’t get the gold, they are happy with their achievement.
This week’s #HappyAct is to dream big, work hard towards your dreams, but make a conscious effort to have low expectations for yourself. Note I said yourself, not others. Continue to have high expectations of others and they will rise to the occasion. What do you think is the key to happiness (other than doing one happy act a week!)? Leave a comment.
Interested in hearing more? Watch this TedTalk with Barry Schwartz, “The Paradox of Choice”.
This week is a milestone for my blog. It has been exactly one year since I started on this journey of doing one happy act a week and inviting others to join me. With any venture, at some point you have to take stock and see if what you are doing is making a difference
So if money could buy happiness, here’s the million dollar question. After one year of happy acts, am I happier? Oddly enough, I think the answer is yes.
Not, in the “OMG, I have a fabulous new job, get to travel the world and meet fabulous people” way (mainly because I have the same old job, travel only occasionally and usually to Napanee, and only get to meet new people at parent council meetings or at work), but in a more subtle and sublime way. And I suspect the reason why all boils done to one revealing truth: self-awarenesss.
There were many reasons I started this blog. Being happier myself wasn’t one of them (the irony). But by simply being more aware of what makes me happy and actively engaging in acts of happiness, I think I am happier.
This week’s #HappyAct is a double assignment. First, take stock. Are you happy? Why or why not? What parts of your life are you satisfied with? What aspects are leaving you feeling less fulfilled? Pinpoint one thing you would like to focus on or change, and make it a goal this year to be happier in this realm of your life. I did this recently when I cleared some columns on the spreadsheet of life. Your second act is to keep joining me each week in this journey of discovery and help me by sharing the happy by sharing an occasional post or two.
Like next week’s post, where I’ll share what I think is the key to happiness—don’t miss it!
Most people spend more time planning their next vacation than planning their finances. I’m passionate about travel, but I’m equally as passionate about taking control of your finances.
This was instilled into me long before I started working in the financial services industry. I remember my Dad saving his quarters, dimes and nickels in piles of jars on his dresser to pay for our family vacation each year.
Since then, I’ve lived by a few simple money mantras: live within your means, pay yourself first, buy insurance to take care of your loved ones. But just like everybody else, I know there are other things I should be doing to improve my financial health.
That’s why I was so excited when we came up with the idea at work to promote the launch of our new social media channels and Financial Literacy Month with a Financial Weight Loss Challenge.
The idea is simple. Think about the one thing you know you should do about your finances that you’ve been putting off and take action in the month of November. We recently met with our financial advisor to increase our savings for the kids’ education and our retirement, but there’s two other things on my list: finishing a spreadsheet of all our policies and switching cell phone providers (anyone with any tips on this one, let me know!)
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you peace of mind.
This week’s #HappyAct is to take the #FinancialWeightLoss challenge. Take action this month to take control of your finances and lose the weight of whatever financial decision is weighing you down. Challenge your friends and family members by sharing the Financial Weight Loss challenge post on the Empire Life Facebook page (and like us while you’re there). We’re also running a contest where you can win either a $100 VISA gift card or iPad mini. Be sure to share what one action you are going to take.
Do you ever wonder if your house has a black hole? I swear ours does. The latest thing sucked into the dark vortex of our home is an entire bag of hats that went missing during the annual switch over from summer to winter clothes. All of my best hats went missing, which means we’ve had to rely on our collection of “funny hats” this winter.
Happy Act 