I like the list i found for ways to improve how you feel at home
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/10-things-that-will-make-you-happier-at-home-174151
and it referenced this book
http://www.amazon.com/The-Happiness-Project-Aristotle-Generally/dp/006158326X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356844298&sr=8-2&keywords=happier+at+home
that i happened to purchase that i should really be applying to my life right now but it'll have to wait because i'm not at "home". however, the ten items are applicable and i'm going to try to apply them. I want to add the document that i typed the ten items into but i can't tell which button does that...i tried to upload an image but even though i saved it to pdf it won't recognize that as an image file. so you'll just have to read it yourself because i'm too lazy to retype it however...
it'll help me remember to repeat it again. let's see how many i can paraphrase and type myself without looking at the list.
in no particular order:
1. make your bed
2. leave rooms in a ready state (meaning clean up after yourself so you're no overwhelmed by clutter, which i am)
3. do something nice without expecting anything in return for someone who you live with.
4. take a few minutes to get spiritually connected to something greater than you once a day.
5. call a different friend or family member each day
i'm really trying to remember them. i just got really distracted and my mind's eye could not focus on the piece of paper i wrote them down on. oh!
6. spend money on items that add to the experience of your home.
7. have sentimental items on display.
if someone asked me face to face to think of these they'd give up waiting before i could think of more than 2 or 3 at most. for the sake of sleep i'll cheat and check the list.
i missed
8. duh! the one that i started maybe half an hour ago!: start a one-line-a-day gratitude journal.
9. the dish washing example: if you can't get out of it, get into it.
10. before you get up each morning, set an intent for the day.
So these are simple and easy to remember HOWEVER there's this other list on destressing and i think there are 50 FIFTY five-oh items on that list and that's kind of stressful...counterproductive.
http://liveboldandbloom.com/08/self-improvement/50-things-to-stop-doing-forever
okay so it isn't to destress it's just things that i should stop doing forever and some of the stuff on that list is SPOT ON. spot. on.
HOWEVER HOWEVER i feel like this is a really complicated logic problem. i wish i learned that language...
Not everyone's list is appropriate for everyone else so i'm going to be adding some random thoughts on here. This might result in some shoddy blog posts but you should be used to that by now, since it's been forever since i last blogged. I'm so envious of these ppl who seemingly have forever to write their posts and practice what they post, etc.
This is the short list of things that i can think of right now:
1. be less apologetic
2. fold up some of my guilt-ridden shirts, put them in those space saver bags, and lock them in a suitcase that i'll keep in my trunk. or i could just say that i'll stop living according to what my guilty-feeling self tells me i should take into consideration.
3. get another tattoo. or two.
4. be more spontaneous.
5. stop taking myself so seriously. or try to. i'm really not awesome enough to warrant such a serious demeanor.
That's a good starting list. It's really the sort of thing you need to come up with on your own.
I'm getting too old for this nonsense of trying to live my life according to what seems like the right thing to do and all of that nonsense. The people who tell you what you should be doing will not always be there and what will you do when they are gone? You have to exercise in your decision making shoes to stretch them out now so they fit nicely later. Like you've owned them all along, because you have.
At the end of the day, and at the end of your time here, it's all you. You're all you've got. So, you might wanna practice a little now. Just sayin.
