Happiness Project - January (Topic of Choice)

My Happiness Project continues with the month of January. The suggested goals for this month are going to bed earlier, exercising better, getting organized, and acting more energetic.

This month I have been attempting to go to bed earlier. Instead of staying up later to watch my favorite television show or listen to music, I've turned out the lights and tried to get that 9 hours of sleep. According to this article by Gretchen Rubin there are a number of reasons why it is sleep makes such an impact on happiness. If you get a better night's sleep you are a lot less exhausted. You will be more likely to have a more relaxing morning, enabling you to start your day off right, which sets the course for the rest of it. Your attitude changes with more sleep because you are less irritable and maybe a little more patient with people. You're able to be more productive and you feel happy and refreshed. I have noticed all these things to be true in myself. The more sleep I get the more likely I am to actually have a good day.

Second on my list is exercising better. It's known that exercising makes people happier. According to this the reason is that exercising burns a hormone called cortisol, which is produced as a result of stress. Exercising also releases endorphins, which yield a euphoric feeling. This month I have done my best to exercise more. I've gone to the gym or gone to dance class every day. I definitely think that doing so has made me a lot happier. Dance is the one thing I always look forward to, and making sure that I am doing so every day has made me feel better.

I've also taken steps to getting myself and my life organized. The month of January was quite hectic for me. I had college applications due, a lot of pressure on me at dance, and a full schedule with what felt like no time to breathe. To organize I started making more checklists and prioritizing what I needed to get done. Managing my time and keeping track of what needed to get done when made me stress a little less. I also tried to tackle all of the tasks I had that were nagging me. I had gotten into the bad habit of putting things off, and decided that this month I would just deal with everything. My stress levels have gone way down, which has made me a lot happier, and ultimately probably healthier too.

Lastly I've taken charge of my attitude. Positive thinking is known to yield positive results. I've had a lot of hard decisions to make, and a lot of pressure to deal with, and I've realized that worrying won't change anything. I'm only going to be happy if I want myself to be happy, if I let myself be happy. This article highlights the reasons why taking control of your attitude affects your life. You are the only person who can control how you feel.  If you have the right attitude anything can be possible. "If you dream it, you can do it," right?

This month I've taken control of my attitude, organized myself and my life, exercised more, and tried to get those precious hours of sleep. I've felt a lot happier, so I'd definitely say that my happiness project is working out well.