That’s the beginning of a Billy Joel song! But also the topic of this week’s List for Happiness. (Check out my last Blog Post, 52 Weeks of Happiness Ahead, if you missed it!) Apologies in advance for the short post, all of a sudden it’s 9:00 pm on Sunday evening! I still have to check the chickens for the last time tonight (and collect the eggs) and take a shower. Where does time go?ERG!
I opened my laptop this morning and went to the Google Randomizer. Number 18 came up and I turned to the list in my journal. “List the things about yourself that you DON’T need to change.”
It’s funny, especially at the beginning of a new year, most of us have things that we are planning on “changing” – our eating habits, exercise routine, spending, attitude, etc…but have you actually sat back to consider the things you do well? The things you LIKE about yourself? The things you DON’T want to change? It’s mind boggling, isn’t it? You can actually LIKE something about yourself? So this week I am digging deep and sharing my top 3 with you! No long explanations, no rants, just stuff I don’t need to change. Here goes:
I Don’t Need to Change:
- The people (and animals) I surround myself with. When you are free of drama filled, strained, exhausting relationships, life feels so much lighter. Set boundaries, clear the air (and your conscience if needed), and start hanging out with positive people who make you feel good. You deserve it!
- A positive attitude. My nickname (once upon a time) was “Rainbows and Butterflies” – I try to always look for the silver lining and find the good, even if the “good” is a lesson. It’s amazing when once you decide to change your attitude things seem to get better. You see, I’m fully subscribe to the notion that it’s not what happens in life, it’s how you react. There are certain things that are going to happen that you will never have control over – but do you know what you do have control over? Your thoughts.
- Appreciating the little things. Fresh eggs, dog kisses, a fireplace, a warm shower (did I mention it was getting late and I need to take one!) I could go on for days. (Don’t worry I won’t) It’s not just the “stuff” either – it’s the smell of the country, the witnessing of a spirited conversation between father and son, sleeping till 8 on a Sunday. Do you forget to appreciate the things you have? Take inventory – I bet you have a whole list of things that you would not want to change.
If you are playing along at home (and I hope you are) you’ll remember from last week that each list has an action. The action for this list is to set a reminder on your phone 1 year from now to go back and reread all the things you don’t want to change. I think we need to do this more often. The list in my journal will be long and I hope yours is too.
I’ll leave you with this perfectly imperfect photo of our 3 pups. The darker patches you see on the carpet are pieces of wood they pulled from the woodbox and chewed, the cotton is stuffing from a stuffed toy they ripped (or could be from one of the pillows from the couch – I thought I had picked all of that up), there is no bedskirt on my bed right now, it’s being washed as Elvis has a habit of rubbing his face on it after he eats and it was stained bad, seriously, it was super gross. These are all things that I would never want to change – er, except the whole pillow thing, I could do without them pulling stuffing out of my pillow. 🙂
Find the little things my friends! You’ll be happier, I promise.
Love,
The Cohns
