Tag: happiness

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Crush the seeds of doubt

Seeds of doubtI thought about starting this blog for about two years. Then I finally did it, and posted my first post.
At first, it was encouraging to see other bloggers follow me, and friends commenting. This was going to be fun. But as the day went on, and as nighttime creeped in, seeds of doubt started to germinate in my mind.

Was I crazy? What do I know about happiness? And who is really going to care one iota about my stupid blog?

Doubt is an interesting emotion. On the one hand, it’s good to doubt ourselves. The world would be
a pretty obnoxious, arrogant place if we didn’t. On the other hand, doubt can seep into your consciousness and eat away at your confidence, causing you to question yourself, your abilities and everything you believe in. Doubt is insidious. I actually think the word is spelled wrong. It should be a four letter word (what purpose does the “b” serve anyway)? It serves no purpose, just like the emotion itself. It’s negative, destructive, and the biggest buzzkill around.

This week’s Happy Act is to crush the seeds of doubt the next time you find yourself questioning your abilities. Make it a physical act. Write the word doubt on a piece of paper, crumple it up and throw it in the recycler. If you’re chewing gum, chew up your doubt and spit it out. Crush the seeds of doubt and revel in newfound confidence. Leave a comment: what do you doubt about yourself?

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Busta move

Girls dancing
Dancing in our pjs on a Sunday morning

I love to dance. At concerts, I find it hard to sit down. If I’m not standing, my feet are tapping and I’m groovin’ in my seat. When my kids were babies, they would be cranky in the evening, so I’d crank up the music and dance with them in my arms around the room. Now my daughter is 11 and she’s embarrassed any time I dance in public.

I love watching young children dance, because they don’t care—they have no inhibitions. They’ll gyrate and do the goofiest moves, letting their little bodies move and groove to the music. As adults, sadly, we become more self-conscious of how we look when we dance.

This week’s Happy Act is to dance. It’s the holiday party season so maybe you can cut a rug on the dance floor with your co-workers, check out a club, or busta move with your kids in your living room. It doesn’t matter, just dance.  You’ll be smiling when the music stops.

Here’s a picture of the gang staying at my house this weekend busting a move to David Wilcox in our jammies in my living room. To inspire you, check out this video of the 2012 Shag Dancing champions. But don’t try this at home kids, you might just bust a hip or a knee instead of a move.

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The Happy Act blog

Welcome to my blog. This blog is a new adventure for me. Each week, I’ll explore something that makes me happy and issue a weekly challenge we can do together—one Happy Act that will hopefully help you feel happy too.

Confession time. I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a Super Susie type, you know the kind of person that is so happy and positive all the time, it drives you crazy. I’m not even that great a writer.

So why should you embark on this journey with me? I can’t give you a good reason other than why not? If doing one happy act a week brings a bit more happiness into your life and into the world, then isn’t it worth it? Because happiness is not something we aspire to, it’s not a destination. You don’t find it. The phrase the pursuit of happiness is hogwash. Happiness is a state of being, and to be happy, you need to do little acts of happiness.

This week’s Happy Act is to call an old friend. Meet them for coffee, call them on the phone or send them a message on Facebook or LinkedIn. It will feel good to connect with them again. Here’s a picture of us catching up with some old friends who moved to Edmonton and who we hadn’t seen in seven years.

Catching up with old friends