practise the Happiness Manifesto for a month

OK, I’ve not been great about some aspects of this. I’ve exercised and counted my blessings, grown herbs, talked to my boy lots and lots, seen friends more often than previously, watched almost no telly – pretty much only Peep Show – and had a darned good giggle every day. Things I haven’t been so great at are saying hi to strangers and consciously treating myself and others – I find it particularly difficult to find small, non-time-consuming treats that aren’t based on food. I do feel a lot happier than I did this time last month, so I am checking this off as worth it, although I don’t know how much of it is attributable to the manifesto. I can definitely say that forcing yourself to find five things a day to be grateful for helps you to focus on finding the positives and keeps your mind out of the doldrums.

There’s an article about happiness in today’s Observer. Worth a look.

Right. I’ve become a right misery guts lately, and it’s robbing me of my zest for life, and my confidence. I need to dig out my old therapy notes and have a good look at them, but in the meantime I am also going to start practising the Happiness Manifesto.

1. Get physical. Exercise for half an hour three times a week.
2. Count your blessings. At the end of each day, reflect on at least five things you’re grateful for.
3. Talk time. Have an hour-long uninterrupted conversation with your partner or closest friend each week.
4. Plant something, even if it’s a window box or pot plant. Keep it alive!
5. Cut your TV viewing by half.
6. Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once each day.
7. Phone a friend. Make contact with at least one friend or relation you have not been in contact for a while and arrange to meet up.
8. Have a good laugh at least once a day.
9. Every day make sure you give yourself a treat. Take time to really enjoy this.
10. Daily kindness. Do an extra good turn for someone each day.

Some of these I already do, frankly, but it doesn’t hurt to document them.

1. I already exercise at least twice a week, and I’ll try and do an extra session.
2. This needs the most attention. I can get terribly down and negative about the state of my life, and counting my blessings would help me realise that it’s-a not so bad. I’m going to add a separate goal for this one. It seems to be the môde d’emploi.
3. This is easy. Me and my boy never stop talking, and often linger at the dining table for at least an hour after eating.
4. Hm. I’ve grown basil in the past. There are some old plastic troughs in the yard for some reason. I’ll get hold of some compost and herb seeds, and try growing an indoor herb garden.
5. Tricky. As I watch little to no TV at all – less than an hour a week – to do this I would have to project TV out from my eyes. I think I can feasibly ignore this one. In fact, I think more TV, or at least, more DVDs, would probably make me happier.
6. I used to do this all the time and it did make me feel happy. On Friday I shared a special “I see you are also wearing a hat” smile with a pretty girl who looked like a doll as I waited for the bus, and it reminded me of the power of smiling at strangers.
7. I know it’s awful, but I’m so busy working and studying that I find it hard to make time to see friends, and my financial situation doesn’t make it any easier. But this weekend I went for a quick Friday post-work drink with Lucyann2, and yesterday I met up with my oldest girlfriend Maxine and Dinah in York for a day of wine and nattering, and it did me the world of good. So this needs more attention too.
8. Um, I live with Headapollo, the funniest man to grace the surface of the planet. He regularly makes me laugh so hard I wee a little bit in my pants. Lack of laughter is not a problem (though the pelvic tone is. Note to self: add goal about Kegels exercises).
9. Treating myself. Hm. I have a tendency to skimp on me-time, instead devoting more time to studying or other worthy causes. It’s probably what’s led, partly, to my current mental state. I need to have a think about this. The treats should, ideally, not be food based. Any suggestions welcome, bearing in mind that I am extremely short on both time and money – a long hot soak in the bath sounds great but is expensive and time consuming.
10. I love treating people. There’s not much scope around for it at the moment as I don’t really see many people apart from colleagues and my man. This needs some thought too. I suppose I can always just make everyone a nice cup of tea.

Right. I’m going to go and get on with number one on this list, and go for a run.