Happiness Challenge Round 2 May 7th

[Changing4Best]

I go back and forth between the private message and this one too. It is good to try to keep track of as many of us as possible.

1. My grateful fors today were: The quiet times between noisiness from my upstairs neighbors; the sunlight slowly making it across my room; that I'm NOT diabetic. Thank You, God!

2. I read in the Bible today on the subject of ridicule, which I've been facing a lot of in other places on the web and also from a family member (it's been a tough week). In Old Testament times, the solution to ridicule was to carry on with God's work no matter what. The Israelites did this when rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem, this was written about in the book of Nehamiah. And so I carry on, even though I get punched with words a lot! (Atheists objecting to my mention of Biblical things in my poetry and things like that).

3. I did most of my exercise, still have Physical Therapy to do.

4. I meditated upon how my parents raised me, a subject which was touched upon in one of my spiritual books this morning that I was reading. I looked back on a lot of things and realized that I get my intolerance for noise from my father who was very intolerant of children in general (why he became a father is beyond me!).

5. I smiled at a lot of folks at the grocery store and I spent some time talking to an elderly neighbor.

 

[a3a2]

1. Grateful for: My therapist. Chocolate. Hamsters.

2. A positive experience-My son joined me in the garden planting seeds.

3. Exercise: I didn't...unless you count gardening.

4. I meditate at bedtime. Coming soon.

5: Random act of kindness: we are frequently visited by a lonely neighbor. Sometimes it is very annoying, as she tends to talk at you, not to you. Tonight I laid everything aside and listened.

 

[Whitneys story]

Gardening! Counts in many arena's
Exercise
Meditation
Art
Healing
Relaxation
Random act of kindness if doing for another
Self Worth, accomplishment
Beauty
Amazing what comes from gardening! I might have missed some things. Happy Gardening! :hug: Whitney

 

[ms spock]

1. Write down three new things you are grateful for each day.
2. Journal about a positive experience experience in the last 24 hours.
3. Exercise
4. Meditation
5. A random act of kindness

1.
I am grateful that I saw my GP and worked out a strategy for managing my back.
I am grateful that I rested.
I am grateful for friendship.

2.
I am grateful for a he artful conversation with a friend today.

3.
I did some stretches.

4.
I did some meditation.

5.
I was friendly. I gave someone a lift.

I completed the change the prior two days - did some yoga and tai chi for exercise.


Did a number random acts of kindness.

 

[zaniara]

1) I'm grateful for: having a door to lock at night, that I'm grownup now and can chose who to have in my life, having a friend I can share my struggles with the abstinence from the white sugar with

2) Positive experience: Had a bit of a breakthrough with the mediation today. A very small one, but nevertheless I managed to find some relaxation(and didn't end up crying or falling asleep either) and calmness- and the feeling made me feel a bit more present and not as edgy the rest of the day. :) A bit less depressed today than yesterday.

3) exercise: one hour walk in the woods

4) yes, only 25 minutes, but today I actually felt for the first time I could have stayed put for much longer(I just didn't have the time)

5) no random act of kindness, except for talking to my friend and giving her support in her struggle with the abstinence(but she gave me even more support..) and trying to be a good mother to my kids.

 

[Froggie]

May 10th Day 16th (day 4 round 2)
1. Three new things you are grateful for today :I'm alive; the thunder storm during the night (I sleep better); making a big batch of spaghetti sauce.
2. Journal about a positive experience in the last 24 hours : the closeness between me and the P family, JM, one of the brothers will be dying very soon - we are supporting one another.
3. Exercise : Tai Chi
4. Meditation : while listening to meditative music
5. A random act of kindness : offering myself to stay by JM to help the family.

 

[Changing4Best]

All 4 done today the 10th of May.

Grateful fors: A ride to work. 2. Work I can do. 3. Someone to talk with while we work volunteer.
Positive: Reading the book HAPPINESS AT HOME by Gretchen Rubin, which I recently purchased. It is so nice to own the book and be able to long range plan with it. Also, since I spend most of my time at home, happiness at home is a concept that I can really dig into and work with.
Exercise: Physical Therapy, stretches and work.
Meditation/ Prayer: Prayed for a child that has cancer. Read some Devotionals and talked with God a bit about a financial problem I have....
Kindness: I got ready early for my friend who drives us to work, because she said she might need to leave early. She thanked me for being so flexible. She even bought me an iced tea at MacDonalds.

 

[Eleanor]

Well done all! I am reminded that just listening is such a powerful act - and such a blessing to people who are isolated one way or another. I shall try to remember this more.

 

[Changing4Best]

MAY 11, Day 5, Second Round

Well, I just completed everything and it is 7:23 in the morning only! This is to be celebrated, for it usually takes me a good portion of the day.

My Positive Moment was sitting outside watching the dawn develop and listening to the orchestra of birdsong. The sky is cloudy, but that is OK, for I so enjoyed the aromas of flowers, fresh cut grass and watching a male cardinal forage for food that it didn't matter. Cardinals always remind me that Jesus is with me, and so I thanked Him for the lovely morning.

My act of kindness was to suggest to someone in an email group, who had complained that he was having trouble keeping up with personal hygiene, to use baby wipes. He is disabled in a way, morbidly obese to be precise. It is a group for over-eaters and this trouble had come up for me for a different reason. I was keeping my heat low for the winter to save on electricity, so I could afford the dentist. But taking a shower under such circumstances could be dangerous, pneumonia and all.... so it occurred to me that the baby wipes might help me, and when I read of his trouble, I suggested them to the whole group. Who knows how many of us have that problem?

May you all do well today and make your goals, YEAH TEAM 21!

 

[Eleanor]

Ok, did the 7 minute thing. Hard.
Exercise - DONE. 5 for 5.

Now: The reading for today was about Priming. AKA The Tetris Effect. The idea is that you train your brain to attend to certain things when you focus on it. Case in point: Tetris. If you play tetris for a really long time for several days, you will, almost certainly start noticing how things could potentially "fit" together as tetris pieces - furniture, bricks, buildings, books on a shelf. You name it - your brain will start superimposing the "tetris interpretation" onto ... anything! Similarly, if you close your eyes and visualize the color red and then look around the room, the red things will jump out at you! So, the lesson here is to be careful about how you prime yourself for the day.

I would add to this that there is something called "The Stockdale paradox" named for a remarkable person - Admiral James Stockdale. The paradox is this, that in order to survive terrible circumstances and come out whole (or mostly so) it helps to do two things which seem at odds with each other (hence the paradox). The first is to fully acknowledge the brutal realities of your situation (he spent 7 years as a POW at the "Hanoi Hilton" and was tortured regularly for much of that.) The second is to maintain the belief that you will prevail and make it out and get to a good life. He observed that people who did the latter without the former didn't have the staying power to make it through the difficulties. People who could only see the brutal reality and didn't look to the future with a certain degree of confidence missed opportunities, gave up and often died. Most of "his guys" got through and got out. They worked as a team, supported each other when they faltered, and made the best of the chances they got (which they could recognize and respond to because of that focus on future success.) And it ultimately became a valuable experience for them.

Go team 21!

 

[The Albatross]

I loved Tetris, and am now working on beating back my "freeze" response with some of the timed games on Bejeweled. I am not a high score-er or anything... but am having some success if I'm not too tired or stressed. I actually have to cue myself to breathe.

Like what you shared about "The Stockdale Paradox" One of our local renowned people is Bud Day who was also in the Hanoi Hilton.

 

[Changing4Best]

Ok, did the 7 minute thing. Hard.

I think I missed something; what is the 7 minute thing?