This is Day 1 of the 21-Day Positivity Challenge held in March 2012, where we work on being positive for 21 days. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
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Hello everyone, and welcome to Day 1 of the 21-Day Positivity Challenge (21DPC)!! :D *dance*
We have over *300* official participants now!! To all of you who have duly signed up and helped spread the word to your social networks (or even via blogging about it), thank you. The challenge can only be a success through our collective efforts. The more people sign on to 21DPC, the better it will be for everyone, because hey – that means even more positive energy to go around. :D There is never a limit to how much positive energy there can be – abundance has no lmits.
For those of you whose friends / family read your message and decided to join in on 21DPC too, that’s fabulous. PE Challenges are always particularly fun when you get to do it with someone you know! You can keep each other accountable and learn more about each other in the process.
If you are doing it by yourself, not to fret. We have over 300 official participants here with us for 21DPC, and we’re definitely going to get more people joining us over the next few days before I close the sign ups. In the course of these 21 days, all of us will be doing 21DPC together as one, reflecting on the daily questions, sharing our answers in the comments section of the daily posts, and engaging each other in meaningful discussions.
This is a challenge to be done together as a community, as a group, as one Personal Excellence family, which is really the reason why PE is even here. So do not be afraid to share your answers openly and be fully honest with yourself here. There is no judgment here; anyone who tries to do that will be promptly barred from the site. The .co in the PE domain represents community, not individuality- always remember that whenever you come here to the site.
Important: Sign Up First Before Reading Any Further
If you’re new to 21-Day Positivity Challenge, or you have not signed up yet (your name should be in the official participants list), please read the announcement post and sign up first before going any further: 21-Day Positivity Challenge. All details on the challenge, what to expect, and how to sign up can be found at the post.
If you have already duly completed the 3 sign up steps, your name will be added in the next 36 hours. ♥ Thank you!
Update March 5: Sign ups are now closed now – thanks everyone for your amazing response! For those who didn’t get to sign up – you are more than welcome to participate and join us in the daily threads!
What To Expect for the Next 21 Days
1. Positivity Question
Changing Your Life, Starting From Your Thoughts
As you have read in the announcement post, I will be assigning you a positivity question every day, for the next 21 days.
The question may be simple, like asking “What is your favorite movie?” to something deeper, like “What is 1 positive thing you can share about your least favorite person?” There are days when there will be 2-3 questions combined into 1 (for example, today’s question) – you are expected to answer all the questions, and not just answer the first one and skip the rest.
The idea is to cultivate positivity in your life, via working on the root of it all – our thoughts. Asking ourselves the right questions will help us think in the right manner. And from there, the right actions, habits, and behavior will follow suit. As the saying goes:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” — Anonymous
Your Honesty Required
My request to you is to be as completely honest with yourself in answering the questions. Because the more honest you are, the more insights you will unveil, the more you will grow. Think of it as it you’re in a dark room alone, by yourself, and there’s no one there to listen, comment, or judge. What is the first thing that comes to mind? What would be your most truthful response to the question?
This challenge is not about sugar-coated answers and creating an illusion of happiness and positivity to everyone out there. You are probably kidding yourself if you think we’ll be jumping around in these 21 days, skipping merrily, laughing like little kids and forcing ourselves to smile every day.
Don’t feel that there’s a need for you to write something positive just because this is a positivity challenge, because that’s totally untrue. As I shared in Principle #1 of 10 Timeless Principles To Be Happy, part of being happy / positive includes airing out grievances, unhappiness, frustrations, anger, sadness, disappointment, etc inside of you – whatever they may be. These (negative) energies, when unaired, are merely *stuck* in your consciousness, with nowhere else to go.
In the end, they end up affecting you on a subconscious level, in more ways than you can imagine. The more (unhappiness) you release through your answers in 21DPC (in a constructive manner, of course), the more happiness can flow your way.
2. Positivity Task
Most of the days will have a positivity task assigned. This task is linked to the day’s question, and usually comprises of a simple action that can be done on the day itself. Do complete the task as part of your 21DPC participation.
3. Positive Thing For the Day
Last but not least, you are to identify at least 1 positive thing that you got out of the day, for every day of 21DPC. If you can identify more than 1, that’s even better! The more the better! :D
Sharing To Help Yourself and Help Others
As with every challenge, I highly recommend you share your responses in the comments section of the daily posts with the other participants, to get the most out of your 21DPC experience.
If you’re not comfortable sharing your answers under your usual name/nick on PE, then create some fake, random nick (so no one will know it’s you) and post your answers under that nick (for the remainder of 21DPC, if you want). Replace others’ names (if any) in your answers with fake nicks as well. There is always something powerful about transparently writing your thoughts out there in the open, vs. keeping it to yourself in your little book.
Besides, do not underestimate the change you can make in others’ lives just by sharing your answers here. After all, have you not benefited in the past from reading honest sharings by others, be it on Personal Excellence, or on other websites? What would the world be if no one wants to share? Think about the people out there you can effect. By helping others, you are also helping yourself.
21DPC Day 1 Question
Given that this is a positivity challenge, for Day 1 today, I want you to think about how happy you are. Not just today, but as a person.
On a Scale of 1-10, How Happy Are You? And Why?
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Share as much as you want in your answers, from a few words to a few pages long. Be honest as you can. Answer both questions, and not just the first question.
And if you did not give yourself a 10/10 for your score, I have one additional question for you:
Why Did You Not Give Yourself a 10/10?
Again, be completely honest in your response. There is no judgment here at PE. Only positivity and love.
While we’re on the topic of happiness, be sure to check out the related articles on how to achieve happiness (or unhappiness, as per the second article) at PE:
…and the manifesto versions:
Your Tasks Today
- Reflect and answer today’s question(s). Write as few or as many words as needed to fully express your thoughts. There is no word limit.
- Identify at least one positive thing about your day. It may be something small or something big – as long as you deem it as something positive, it counts. If you have more than 1 thing to share, then by all means, go for it!
Share Your Answers!
After you are done, share your answers in the comments area!
If you’re doing this at the start of the day, you can post your answer for today’s question first, then return at the end of the day to answer the 2nd part, on identifying at least one positive thing about your day.
Check out other participants’ answers. Pick 1-2 participants’ answers and make a meaningful reply to them. Engage in the discussions. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days!
Look forward to reading your responses!
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I would say I am quite happy. Much, much happier than I was a few years ago. Let’s say 7/10. The biggest thing I learned in the past few years is that happiness is internal, not external. However, I still have some big goals I am yet to accomplish that I think will make me happier – I am on a weight loss/health improvement/ getting fit / overcoming emotional overeating journey. And I need to learn to accept myself and love myself even more – that’s another goal.
Positive thing that happened today: I had an awesome first day of March – it was first sunny day of the year; I got up at 5:30, been energetic whole day, spent 12hours at the Uni/in the commute, yet still managed to eat quite healthy and exercised for 30min in the evening :dance:
Btw, I am currently reading a book called ”Project: Happiness” , and I have been thinking about what simple tasks I can implement in my life to make myself happier – it’s really a wonder that this challenge started now :) Strange thing how when you start working on something, more and more tools and chances appear :mrgreen:
If someone wants to check Project: Happiness out, there is also a blog by the writer
http://www.happiness-project.com/
(hope it’s allowed to leave external links)
I clicked the path that you included to the Happiness Project – sounds like a great book so I ordered it along with another one of her books titled Five Year Journal-One sentence entries. Thanks for sharing! :)
on a scale of 1-10 i am probably a 9/10 in happiness because i’m very blessed. i consider myself very lucky to have a good job, good health, good friends and family. i attend daily mass and bible study once a week and have a very healthy spiritual life. i try to give back by tutoring two women in english, helping with the lifeteen group at my parish and contributing to needy causes throughout the year. the first thing i do when i wake up in the morning is to thank God for another beautiful day. He provides me with whatever i need! God is the love of my life!! :heart:
i did not give myself a 10/10 because i really want to be in a relationship with the man of my dreams. i’ve been divorced for 11 years and have not met anyone worthy of my love. i know that God has a plan for me and has wonderful things in store for me but there are times when i’m lonely and don’t feel like i have anyone i can share that with. i know how difficult it is to be in a relationship and i do love my singlehood most of the time but i guess the devil is able to poke me every once in awhile…usually when i’m feeling down something happens to shake me out of it so it doesn’t last long but still it happens sometimes.
today is 3/1 in santa fe, nm so i’m just writing this even though you posted it yesterday. one positive thing that happened yesterday was meeting my students for our tutoring session. i tutor two women from mexico in english twice a week and it brings me such joy when they say i taught them something they didn’t know. i had them create a bucket list from one of your other posts and it was a lot of fun to hear what they aspire to. thank you celes for your inspiration! you are truly a gift to the world! :hug:
I have food, I have a home and I have a loving Family. and I have the opportunities to follow education..10/10 what is there not to be happy about?
There are people in this world who do not even have 0.001 precent of what I have and I strongly believe some of those people are happy despite being in a much terrible condtion than me .
I like your perspective, all we need in life are the real necessities like food, companionship, shelter. Why is it that our society teaches us that more is better and more will fulfill us while internally we are not truly content. To also consider that the economy thrives on the public acquiring more of EVERYTHING that is ultimately unnecessary to our livelihood is quite annoying. Of course there are certain things that makes us truly happy but it’s generally non-material things that truly matter.
On the other hand, if you are doing this Positivity Challenge, there must be something that you are not happy about? Just playing devil’s advocate ;) Good luck with the remaining of the 20 days!
My current happiness level is probably a 7-8/10. This past year I’ve had to deal with a few stressful issues(death of a friend, health problems and starting my own business) that keep me from feeling as happy as I know I should be. I have a lot to be happy about so I’m hoping that I can learn to cope better with some of the recent curve balls life has thrown my way.
One positive thing for the day would be that I found several items at the store that I’ve been needing to buy for my office at prices that were much lower than anticipated! Not only was I happy to save money, but it felt great to cross those items off my list :dance:
Happiness would be 5/10..
Over the years i’ve lost that spark within myself that I thrived on! I’ve forgotten about myself in the midst of being mommy and wife. I recently made a promise to myself (30th! birthday) I would start tending to myself at least a portion of what I do for my family as they are my number 1 priority. I’ve got a great husband and 4 great kids that I adore. Yet for the past 6 months or so I feel as tho my past is seeping into my present days and the feeling of low is becoming to often It’s to the point i’m jealous of my husbands carefree and optimistic outlook on life… I use to have it and aim to find it!! I believe we in charge of our own happiness and if we do what we’ve always done were surly to get what we’ve always got. I’m looking forward to a change within, and setting aside time for myself to complete this challenge is something i am looking forward to that as well. :D
BTW.. It’s still March 1st here..
I would put myself at around a 6 out of 10 overall. During the summer I’m doing a job I love with people who are amazing in their support and friendship, and I am definitely at a 10 when I am there. During the rest of the year I am at college, and while I do appreciate the opportunity I am given by receiving a higher education, between the coursework and my job I find my self going through the motions everyday. I don’t feel like I am getting very much out of where I am in life right now.
A positive thing that will be occurring today – to celebrate the end of the week me and my roommate are watching a couple episodes of Doctor Who :)
If I rate myself I would say 7/ 10
I’m a positive person & I love helping people around me I’m open to changes & I have a lovely home loads of wonderful pets, my family lives far away coz I choose to live in another Country. I love it here & my life.
I have a hand full of close friends & that’s all I need. I love my work I have a cleaning service, I do carpentry, Art, decorations, building, all in all I’m a very handy Woman.
So why do I rate it 7/ 10 ?
well I want to make some sort of ground to rest on when I’m getting older, as it is right now I have nothing to support my old age. I need to value myself more & earn more to invest in myself.
I always lived like a butterfly no care for tomorrow. It worked for me until I realized I would most probably get old and need to do something for myself =)
I still have dreams I want to fulfill , my own house and garden, start traveling again see more of the wonders out there. Even though I have seen a lot there are so much more to discover.
I have been living solo for the last 13 years and I might just want to have a special one to share life with again =)
So I’m here to start working with myself , time to start growing again =)
Left it for too long , blaming time & work as one do hahahahahahhaha….
:p
actually – for me – the best way to be happy , is to make someone happy , to draw a nice smile on people’s face . when i do so , i feel that i’ve a great joy specially if i do this with someone i love .
-Day 1 Question
in life i’m trying to get the best degree of happiness , it’s not easy but as i said i’m still trying .
no pain no gain , that’s a truth we all should know beside this truth there’s another good one , “everything is gone ” so how hard was it . the whole thing depends on how we deal with the pain itself & it’s reasons .
happiness comes from inside , if the one have his own happiness from inside he could spread it in his family , friends , etc , but we are sad from inside , nothing could make us happy , we can be happy only if we have this feeling from inside .
– the positivity thing of the day :
me with my friends did a surprise party for our best friends and it was a great day full of joy & fun :)
How happy am.I on a 1-10 scale?,/b>
3/10.
I think I could easily let myself be more happy. More joyful and grateful. I could have more fun and experience more life than I have in the past.
Why did I not give myself a 10/10
I think I haven’t allowed myself to feel happy. I have looked to the future and thought I need to accomplish more and be more before I can let myself smile and enjoy life. I have been getting over that feeling a lot lately.
I think I have handled my emotions really well so far this year. I have been actively taking time to feel grateful and getting myself out of negative states when I feel down. It’s not that I never feel bummed out now but the time I spend feeling bummed out is significantly less than was only 6 months ago.
What is 1 positive thing that happened to me today?
I didn’t need a heavy jacket when I went for a walk this morning. I’m glad the weather is warming up. Spring is coming!
It’s good to see that you are actively trying to see the good in life. I feel like I could take a cue from you and it would help boost me as well. It just has gotten to feel so natural to either feel negative or have no emotional response to the things that are going on around me. It gives me hope to see that changing your mindset to allow you to be happy has helped improve your life.
DAY ONE
21DPC
Hi All, “out there in the wild blue of cyberspace!”
Already I feel challenged! Celes’ questions always make me think!
Abraham Lincoln said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
That quote speaks volumes to me. As a state of mind, I am happy. That happiness is an inside job. It is a PROFOUND REMEMBERING of who, really, I AM. Happy on that level of being, a state of mind, my INNER world, is a perfect 10. Well, actually it would be off the charts really, wouldn’t it, since Higher Mind, One’s Highest Self, Spirit is perfect and just “IS.” In my INNER world, I am complete and whole in the awareness of being part of “Something Greater.” That is my Divine birthright, wherein I already have all the treasures, all the happiness within me. My Deepest and Greater Mind, my Highest Self is the foundation under my feet, it is in the air around me, it is the spirit of generosity that enfolds me. It is my very breath that animates my body. It is in my heart and soul, my spirit, my blood, my bones.
It is There where being essentially happy, deeply happy, (JOYOUS) is a given. :heart:
How well do I remember, access, and manifest that natural state of happiness on a daily basis can be another matter. Landing what I THINK into my ACTIONS.
Do I have goals to realize and things to accomplish that would increase the quality of my life and how I feel about my body and how fulfilled I am feeling with accomplishing my goals, living my best life with passion, and making my dreams come true, on all levels of my being?
YES,YES, and YES!, I surely do!
Here and now, if I were to measure happiness BASED ON my having reached certain goals, ( re health/fitness, writing/publishing book(s), travel, relationships, fully downsizing and relocating to/having a home in one place/ finances), I would rate being happy at about a 5, since I am in a process of realizing my goals and dreams, on many levels of my being and in my life. BUT SINCE I HAVE MADE A DECISION TO BE HAPPY, and am ALREADY happy, I don’t need to reach the finish line to be happy! To know and access that happy state of Mind, regardless of circumstance, I have come to realize that HAPPY is just an “IS,”! So the 5 is really about if my goals that I have set and am aiming for have been met, reaching the goal line (the “finish”/”beginning”line), and it is not about measuring how happy I am at all!
I accept I am where I am, and yet, I am focused on, and in the process of improving various areas of my life. I am SOO happy about that! :dance: And I feel whole and complete and perfectly happy right now in my Mind. :D I MUST NOT WAIT TO BE HAPPY! While I am in process of achieving goals that will improve the quality of my life, I am happy. :D My being happy does not depend on my reaching goals and dreams. As I reach those goals and dreams, I see life as sweeter for me, enjoying myself more fully as a human with a body here to fulfill a destiny, but nothing guarantees that reaching my goals and dreams will bring happiness with those achievements!
When I tap into the indwelling treasures, when I realize and when I focus on and manifest from That Place Within, that is the most important thing to remember. To realize, that it is all there, just waiting for me to call upon my Inner Wisdom. It is up to me to draw upon my treasure trove within and manifest my goals and dreams come true. Choosing to be happy taps me into even more happiness, which energizes me, and gives a good energy to anything I think or do! :dance: What I think about expands!
I am pursuing my goals and dreams, but I am not “pursuing” happiness. Happiness is not out “there” in the world. Happiness is the butterfly that has formed from the cocoon stage that I find myself being in, throughout many different stages of my life. Happiness is an inner awareness of the treasure trove within. The cocoon stage and the butterfly potential are both there, within. I am happy HERE and NOW in the eternal moment of the present moment, but in the meantime… I, in my acceptance of who, really, I am and what is true Reality, am truly happy, peaceful, content RIGHT NOW. :D In the meantime, I set goals, take action, visualize, and go within to realize those goals that I see as making my life sweeter, as well as those I am close with and with those I meet along life’s journey. :heart:
P.S. Overheard:
Why do they call “right now” “The Present”?
Because it is a gift.
P.P.S. “Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.”
(Albert Schweitzer cracks me up!!!)
POSITIVELY POSITIVE
When I went for my swim, the ocean was a bit chilly, and rough, and I was feeling low energy. I told myself:
I AM A STRONG, FAT-BURNING MACHINE, AND WHEN I SWIM, I HAVE MORE ENERGY AND MY MUSCLES BECOME STRONGER AND MY BODY BECOMES MORE SLENDER, AND I AM SWIMMING TOWARD MY GOAL WEIGHT! I SEE MYSELF SLIM AND TRIM!
I was able to pick up speed, swim stronger, and felt more energy, and swam strong for one hour!!! YAY!
:dance: :D :heart: I felt SOOO good after my swim, and even DURING my swim (even though I had had my doubts about how long I could stay in the ocean and do my workout!)
For me it’d be a 7.5 out of 10, I think. Sometimes I act selfishly, and most of the times I wish that every relationship of mine – be it a friendly, family or romantic one – has a special something that nobody else has; I am kind of insecure because of how I look, and I think that definitely translates into how I act and what I want.
But I’m also very optimistic and I try not to let things get me down :D
Good thing about today? Where I live March 1st is the start of Spring, and we celebrate it by giving each other little pendants/gifts adorned with red and white string. It is a very subtle thing, but everybody is just that bit happier. I received a lot of gifts, chocolates and flowers, but more importantly, I offered cake & cookies to everyone I saw today – and the happy look on their faces was well worth it.
Hope everybody is doing fine!
Hey Joan, I like the way you celebrate Spring! Sounds very festive, the red and white string, etc., and the happy gifts…hmmm, perhaps I could start up little, meaningful celebrations like that! Where does this celebration take place?…a certain community or city or is it a family tradition?
I like celebrating! :dance: And anyway, I can create my own little celebrations and festivities, right? :D
You got me to thinkin’, Joan…I feel happy imagining what could be, and then bringing it about!
Thanks for mentioning the March 1st…
And continue enjoying your optimism and b happy! :D
:heart:
Wow, just reading thru some of the other responses! This is so exciting : )
So, I have to rate my happiness at a 9.5/10 today! I have so many positive things in my life and to be happy and thankful about!
On my list:
1. I don’t really have to worry about money. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t make or have a lot of money, but I live a very simple life that doesn’t require a lot!
2. I love love love everything about nature and being outside! Almost everything I do for fun involves being outside, it is my passion. What do I do outside? Bike ride, kayak, walk, snowshoe, cross country ski, birding, daydreaming, etc etc etc : )
3. I share my life with a wonderful man who also has the same passions.
So why am I not a perfect 10? I am being impatient today about a job situation! I used to constantly be looking forward to the next thing, instead of enjoying where I was at. Sometimes I slip back into this mode…but just thinking about it and writing about it has already made me realize “stop stressing and live in the moment”!!!
Hope you all have a wonderful day, and I look forward to reading your posts : )
:hug: hi suz! i am inspired by your happiness! i loved reading your reasons to be happy and thankful for. being outside does do wonders for your emotional state of mind, i agree! and of course, sharing your life with a wonderful man is awesome! good luck on your job situation and i’m sure you will do great! have an awesome day! :hug:
8.5/10 – learning to have a stronger more rewarding experience wth myself and express gratitude daily in a journal
7!
Why? Because thats the first number that came into my head and i think that means something!
I think its a fair number! The list of things that i’m happy for keeps growing everyday!! :)
The top things on the list would be —
A loving and caring family
Loving friends
Dream Job
Good and healthy body!
:D
Oops! Forgot about the good thing today!
There are 3 major things :D
– I got a lot of good comments from my lead at work, saying i was doing a better job than expected and he’s very happy for training me!
– My friend thanked me for helping her to stay motivated and inspired!
– My boyfriend told me he was glad to have me :D
you have a great attitude! those are all excellent reasons to be happy and feel blessed and i like that you are thinking realistically and positively about growing your list of reasons to be happy. :clap:
the three good things that happened are proof that you are doing the right thing in helping others to be happy. i read on the happiness project blog that one of the ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy! awesome job nimi! :angel:
I would rate my overall happiness at around a 6 or 7. I do have a lot to be thankful for including a family, amazing best friend (s), a wonderful boyfriend, a great education (I am in college), and so much more. However, there are many things that I still need to work on personally. I need to take the time to focus on my growth as a person and make sure I am on the right track to reaching my goals for the future.
As for a good thing that has happened to me today, I got to spend time with my wonderful boyfriend this morning ( I know it might sound corny but he makes me happy!)
i’d give myself a 6 out of 10, primarily because I have a lot of people that love and care for me, and whom I’ve started to love and care too, not just them but also people that I don’t really know. I’m grateful to God for the fact that I’m still alive and well every day, that where I live, things are still pretty peaceful, that I’m still able to do a lot of things that I’m able to do now.
For not a 10 out of 10, one of the main reasons are I have yet found my life purpose, I thought I had few months ago but that faded out and now I’m back to square one, again. I stumbled upon PE when I was googling for “levels of consciousness” few weeks back and have been hooked on ever since. After reading the life purpose series, I wanted to sit down and figure out MY life purpose once and for all. Except that I’ve been procrastinating that for at least two weeks already.. I think it’s the classic case of escapism. And I’m still not doing it despite knowing that once I know what my life purpose is, it will so much easier for me to make decisions and stick to them. I still feel lost and aimless and procrastinating a lot (though not as bad as few years back), and this sometimes lead to a sense of uselessness.
There were several positive things in my day yesterday, let’s see:
1. Seeing my colleagues working together to solve problems at work gives me comfort in knowing that there is indeed teamwork in the office, with the right attention and cultivation, this teamwork will most certainly grow stronger.
2. Lunch was happily sponsored by one of my colleagues, God bless her soul!
3. A friend remembered me for jogging; it feels REALLY GOOD to be remembered!
4. A friend called and shared a lot about business and passion, enriching my knowledge with his experiences.
5. Seeing my sister at home, i.e. I’m not that alone.
6. One of the guards of the building where my office is in gave me nod when he looked up and saw me going into the building (I’m still largely a shy person, I don’t know a lot of people, it makes my day even if a stranger just so much as SMILED at me ONLY).
7. Talking to one of my best buddies on Skype.
Up until yesterday morning my Happiness scale was around 6 or 7 depending on what I was thinking about. 6 if it was about my home life/marriage or 7 if it was about work or myself. But last night I got an email from my best friend and she might have pushed it right up to 9!
She shared with me her day 1 entry. All that I have been doing the past few months was just being her friend and accountability partner. But to read how much she appreciated me, and what she wrote to me last night made me feel so much better about myself, that she made a grown man cry (right before I was heading into the gym…. I know she is going to be reading my entry)
You see we have decided to do this 21 day positivity challenge together. She introduced me to this site last year and we did the 21 day journal challenge. Then she supported me through the 21 day healthy living challenge at the end of the year. And we decide we should to this one together as well.
I’m know some of you are already reading this and thinking hmm, i’m married and yet my best friend is a woman… That this is why i’m having issues at home… It’s not like that at all. For those of you who thought that, maybe you should think about your values…
Actually I have had issues with my marriage for a very long time. Long before I reconnected with my best friend last July. We are going through separation/divorce the second time now. And all I can say is in the past 6 years since the first time we almost divorced; I know I tried to make it work. I know she tried to make it work as well. But now, I can say there are no regrets or second guessing if this time around is a mistake or not. We have tried and it’s not helping my happiness or hers anymore with the things going on. That’s why happiness wise at home it would stay a 6.
But if you look at my happiness scale just for myself, then it’s a 9. I work hard, I’m getting into much better shape health wise. I go to the gym every night, eat right. There is something going on with my liver and I have another doctor’s appointment to find out more, but I still feel good about myself. This thing with my liver, a year ago I think it would have really drove me down into the dumps with depression.
But over the past several months my best friend helped me become a better person. She helped me through some tough times last year. She showed me this website, picked out books for me to read, and she did something that I have missed in a long time as well. Which was to just listen to my side of the story, not judge me or accuse me of something. She was just honest with me.
And even with this liver thing, I’m still feeling good about myself and ready for what ever my doctor has to say about my condition.
The reason why i didn’t give myself a 10 is because of my marriage. That’s it. If my marriage was good, I would be 10 for sure!
Positive thing about today: I have a wonderful friend. Most people dream about having a best friend, and I have one. I have not gone to bed regretting anything I did the day before. Every day is a new day, and I’m just happy to be alive.
I’d say I’m 6 out of 10. I’ve made some relationship mistakes based upon my own self image/esteem and realized this now but must go through the process to clean up the mistakes. That part isn’t fun but I am optimistic that I’ve learned a great deal because of this relationship.
I do work daily to keep a positive attitude and do struggle at times but I’m convinced I am on the right path and this is just 21 more steps along that path!
I’d say 6/10. I am not unhappy, on a general basis, but there are some issues in my life I feel are preventing me from really enjoying it. I’m in my Master year, yet I do not know what I want to do next year. Do I want to work or study something else? There are other people I need to take into account too, which complicates things. I don’t really feel I have a goal in my life, something to live for.
I have some issues from my past (bullying, abusive relationship) that I feel are haunting me to this present day. It affects my self-esteem and my belief and trust in the people around me. Maybe I never learned to get out of my “victim” role.
I’m a convert to Islam, which makes me feel rather isolated. My parents accept it but don’t approve, and don’t want me to wear the headscarf, which is something I really want to do. However, it brings worries too, because the country I live in is anti-headscarf and so it might also affect my future in a negative way.
I am shy and reserved to strangers (can’t help it) and this makes it rather difficult for me to make friends. I do have some good friends, but most of them I don’t see on a regular basis.
I don’t have this sense of belonging somewhere, and I rather feel it’s important to me to have this feeling of belonging.
There are some sides of me that I’m not happy with, and are difficult for me to overcome. I’d like to be more disciplined, in my course work and religion, but I always “fall back” after a few days of trying. This results in feeling inadequate and disappointed.
Another thing is that suffering in the world affects me greatly, especially animal suffering. I can get very upset if I hear about some injustice being done to innocent persons or animals, and that also affects my happiness in a negative way.
A positive thing about my day is that I started reading in my meditation book again, while listening to some classical music and enjoying black tea with milk. =)
I would rate myself 7/10 to be honest. The reason why I did not rate myself a 10/10 because I know that I need to really learn to be thankful for what I have more than what I am. My life has had several struggles and I no longer need to look at myself as being a victim but instead be someone who has conquer many challenges in life.
I am thankful that I have a great job, two wonderful children, and great family and friends. They are all wonderful people. My son despite having two different challenging disabilities has overcome many obstacles in life and I look up to him for trying his hardest to overcome them. I look up to my daughter because she is more patient and wise beyond her years which is mainly due to her older brother who has disabilities. I am truely blessed to have two such wonderful kids in my life.
I have come to realize that the only challenges that I have been given are those that I can handle.
I’m a day late, but I’m going to rate my happiness at about 3 out of 10. The 3 stems from spending too much time feeling sorry for myself, and feeling like I’ve not living the life I expected to lead. I am in the process of “Letting Go of the Person I Used to Be,” but am not really quite there.
Hi Jello,
Good for you for letting go, after 21 days of searching for the good things it will surely become a habit and we will all be spreading more and more happiness around!
All the best on this challenge
Hi everyone!
I would say 6/10. I have come a LONG way and really improved my situation in the last 3-4 years: Completed my degree with a young child, got a job after a couple of years of staying at home and only doing a Saturday job, made a couple of really meaningful friendships, started training for a half marathon this year and finally ended my unhealthy relationship after a couple of years of wondering if I should get back with him.
I find I am often dissatisfied with myself and the world, I find it hard getting excited about work for purely financial reasons, my job is OK, not too bad but it’s not where I want to be ultimately.
I’d say the main barriers to increasing my happiness are: I have stopped meditating!, I would like to be more focused and organised, I need to start pursuing my dreams and I often feel, at work for example, not quite at ease, like I can’t really be myself or talk about other projects I want to pursue as that would show I am not that committed to my job.
I really want to sit down and figure out what I want in this life and create some clear goals. Also, mediating and reflecting on what I have is something I find SOOOOOOOOOO beneficial to help me feel happy now, I really want to make time for that.
I’m a full-time single mum working full-time in digital marketing with creative ambitions and often my life feels out of control, like I am running on a treadmill that never stops!
Anyway, I’ve created an alias for this task to share as much as possible, I’ll be back later with what was great about my day.
All the best guys, I’ve shared this with a friend and will share with others later.
Good luck and lets get into this positivity habit! Xxxx
Oops, forgot to share what was the best thing about my day yesterday: I completed my goals at work, got all my cleaning and washing done at home and my son seemed very happy and at ease as he went off to bed :)
:clap:
Hi everyone, well this is a really time sensitive question for me…. at the moment i’m about a 7/8. I’ve had some really good days lately… but there are times when my happiness slips to a 3/4… stuck in a rut and feeling sorry for myself. I hope to control these mood swings and stay around an 8/9. Why not a 10…. Rome wasn’t built in a day… or 21 I reckon.
Positive haps for me today
1. Caught up with a friend for dinner and evening out.
2. Discovered and saw a great band- Tinariwen (world music if you’re into that)
3. started this challenge ;)
Hi Ellen,
My moods vary a lot too and some days I supass my expectations and fell amazing, others I feel overwhelmed and like I am going round in circles. Have you heard of NLP? I went on a course a couple of years ago and really enjoyed NLP but of course you need to keep it up so I’ve started reading a book about it now and tried a few techniques such as visualisation. Also, I saw this video the other day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXy__kBVq1M It relates to what we are doing with writing down what makes us happy each day. Happiness leads to success, not the other way around! :dance:
From a scale from 1 to 10 i think i am at 3. Yes that’s not a good score but i’m not very happy and part of the reason is that i’m not a very positive person either that’s why this is the perfect challenge for me. Thank you from the hart Celes.
Why am I this happy?
I think that most important reasons is that am not positive as a person. I don’t know why, I see the bad things of everything, maybe because of my character, maybe because I was grown up in an environment where all the bad things were put up to notice.
Second because the bad things that have been happening around me, and in a contrapositive environment it all sound worst.
Third but not the least is the bad time all society is having because of the economic crisis, political issues and so on… It is hard to be happy in an place of wide unhappiness, and lack of opportunities.
Summing up I need to find positivity in my life so that I could have the strength to move on and make all of my dreams reality.
What was a very good moment of today: I got to spend time with my little two years old nephew and with my one year old niece which I adore, I had the most pleasant conversation with my cousin and I got to help my aunt, and helping people does make me very happy.
I think that my happiness right now rates at about a 4/10. I view happiness as contentment over the long-term, and for me that’s not very strong right now. I feel like i’m wasting a lot of my valuable time and energy by smoking marijuana. Once that gets cut out of my life, I can envision things starting to get better!
One positive thing today was… I had such a fun time babysitting the two girls tonight! We made a big landing pad, and jumped off couches, and had a pillow fight. I also helped Molly with her homework, and we didn’t have any crying episodes!
I agree with your self-reflection, weed definitely kills motivation. I have seen my younger brother (he is in 20’s now) just waste away his teen years and he is finally, sorta, turning around for the better but it’s been a long painful family struggle. Keep up with your will power and you will conquer anything you want for your future :hug: Good luck with the rest of the 20 days! I hope you stick to it and I believe you will learn something valuable that weed will not teach you…
I wasted my youth on that stuff! I wish you all the best in replacing it with something more positive xxx I know it’s tough, took me years to give up
:twisted: On a scale of 1-10, how happy am i? and why? Probably 5 out of 10… I’m probably only happy half the time and not-so-happy the other half. I’m not happy all the time – mainly because there are aspects in my life that I’m not coping well or managing well. I know I can do better. But I just can’t for the time being.
:dance: The one positive thing about my thing today was working out @ the gym and feeling very good about myself and my body.
I am a new member of this amazing community. As to the level of happiness on the Day 1, I feel 7/10. But after scrolling the discussions I realize that the score is significantly increasing. Thanks Celes, for being the facilitator of the discussion. :clap:
A few weeks ago, I used to be an 8, sometimes even a 9, I was filled with joy and positivity. But these days I’ve been slowly falling back to 7 and 6.
My goal for this challenge is to raise myself to a 9 again, through daily meditation and through engaging in the joyful community.
Some of the positive things that happened today (I count funny as positive):
-I watched this EPIC inspiring video
-My cheeks ached from too much laughing at school.
-I’ve been told by my friends that I appeared on the news yesterday while protesting for Syria.
Off to day 2! (:
Sorry but I forgot to include the link of the video, here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4HGQHgeFE
Great video!
I would rate my current happiness at about 8/10.
I have a happy family with my parents and my younger sister.
I have the opportunities to learn everyday. (I’m a medical student and it is necessary to up to date my knowledge)
I am not rate my happiness at 10/10 because: sometime, I can’t win myself and I have done a lot of things in quarant 3 and 4.
Today, I have learned some new knowledge at school and have played badminton with my friends. It is really fun.
On the happiness scale, I’m going to rate my current self as a 6. I’m not disappointed about that. A year ago, I was a 1. I had a few years that were very traumatic for me and I’d about given up on all of my dreams in life. I let someone else control my happiness instead of making it happen for myself. That was a huge realization. That I had the power to chose my reaction to others behavior. That I could choose between that life and the one I really wanted. I’ve made a lot of progress the past few months and have the support of my best friend, and accountability partner, which gives me hope and encouragement every day. He’s helped me so much in the past few months build my confidence in myself and encourage me to go after the goals and dreams I was letting slip by. Just having someone to share my life with, from the little details to the dreams and disappointments, has been something I’ve missed in my life more than I can describe it. I’m starting to rebuild my life and living and working towards the things I want instead of living for someone else. I’m more reflective, and choose not to let the negative things and people get to me as much as they used to. I’ve spent time setting goals and determining the things that are important to me, and the values I want to live by. I’m spending time with positive people and doing positive things. Next month will be a big milestone for me, and I think my happiness will increase faster after that point.
Positive things about my day: I got to talk to my best friend! The sun was shining and it was warm for this time of year. I got to grill dinner and spend time outside. I made progress on my goals. I had no meetings at work today!
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