Building-In Happiness

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, also writes a column for Good Housekeeping.  Thanks to the gift of a magazine subscription from my thoughtful mother-in-law, I look forward to reading Gretchen's practical tips in each month's issue.  And, yes, Gretchen and I are on a first name basis.

In the May 2012 issue, Gretchen wrote a column called "Built-In Happiness: How to get it and keep it."  According to her, there are three keys to happiness:

1.  Self-knowledge
2.  Anticipation
3.  Love

1.  Self-knowledge
Basically, you need to know what your values, interests, likes/dislikes are.  Know yourself, and accept who you are when you want to build-in happiness.  Gretchen says, "I've found that the more faithfully I'm able to 'be Gretchen' in my daily life, the happier I become."

I laughed out loud when she goes on in the article to say this:  "Your fun may not look like other people's fun.  I myself love to help other people clean out their closets.  Skiing, no way--but cleaning out a friend's closets?  That I anticipate with relish."  This woman is my kindred spirit!  I recently spent an evening sipping wine and cleaning out a gal pal's closet, and I loved every second of it!

I am learning to accept that my idea of fun is soooooooooooooooooooo lame to other people.  Instead of trying to cool-ify my interests like I would have in the past, I'm learning that it makes me happier to keep doing what I love.  Now, this isn't my attempt to say, "Yay, hedonism!  If it feels good, do it!  If it doesn't, avoid it!"  Certainly there are some things that might be difficult for us to do that we ought to be doing.  For example, just because it might be difficult for me to get up out of bed before the kids so that I can have quiet prayer time, it doesn't mean I should stay in bed.  (Speaking of which, it's April, and I still haven't accomplished this New Year's Resolution!  Dear reader, I'm counting on you to hold me accountable to accomplishing that.  Yes, you.)

Beyond doing the stuff we ought to be doing that we're not, what I'm getting at is that most of us are over-scheduled and tend to get overwhelmed, "working for the weekend."  Instead of using that coveted free time doing something that you really don't enjoy, do some humbling introspection, figure out what your interests really are, and find out if the people you love want to do them with you.  If no one you know shares your interest, maybe it's time to branch out and make some new friends who share your interest in biking or scrapbooking.  

2.  Anticipation
This is my favorite part of the article, and this is the part I need to work on the most: building in the things that make me happy by literally making appointments for them.  Otherwise, it's too easy for me to talk myself out of doing the thing that makes me happy because the guilt of all of the other things I think need to get done take over.  

"We should all be able to flip through our calendars and see at least a few pleasant things scheduled for future weeks.  If your life is a parade of obligations, dreaded tasks, unpleasant encounters, and mandatory appearances, take a minute to figure out something that you'd find fun, and make time for it.  Wish you had more time to talk in the park with your dog?  To work on a craft project?  To have coffee with your sister?  Schedule it into your calendar like you would a dentist appointment.  Even before it happens, you'll get a happiness boost every time you anticipate it.  (Also, if you put it on your calendar, you'll be far more likely to actually do it.)"

I need to start looking at my calendar and day-to-day routine to figure out how I can build in these interests and hobbies and build up my relationships.

Philip and I talk all the time about how we need to go to bed earlier, and we both enjoy reading.  Philip and I need to schedule bedtime to happen at a reasonable, fixed time so that we know the next episode of "Downton Abbey" will be waiting for us tomorrow and that it's time to have some quiet reading time together in bed.  

Instead of ending a playdate with "see you guys soon," why not end it with, "Would you guys like to come over next Thursday at 10 and stay for lunch?"  

Instead of leaving the scrapbook left for whenever I'll get around to it next, why not write "Scrapbooking 8:30 p.m." on the calendar for Tuesday night after the kids have gone to bed, and let Philip know that I'd like to spend that time working at my craft station while he does some hobby of his own?  
   
3.  Love
We need others to be happy, but we need to be independent enough to love ourselves first.

"Strong relationships with other people are critical to a happy life.  We need close, long-lasting relationships; we need to belong; we need to give and receive support--perhaps surprisingly, giving support is just as important to happiness as getting support.  Not only does having strong relationships make it far more likely that you'll take joy in life, but studies show that it also lengthens life (incredibly, even more than stopping smoking), boosts immunity, and cuts the risk of depression."

Now that I'm staying at home, I am learning that I need to get out of the house and be with other people I love to get through the winter or usually isolating times (like having a newborn baby).  Literally being cooped up all to ourselves without interaction with the outside world would drive me crazy in the winter months.  The days that were hardest to get out of the house because someone missed a nap or I was frustrated with something were the days that we needed to get out the most.  

"To connect more deeply with people, I need to build my independent happiness...By being emotionally self-sufficient, I free myself (well, admittedly, only somewhat) from depending on other people to boost me up or letting them drag me down.  When I have my own built-in happiness, I don't act like a happiness vampire who sucks happy energy from other people or craves a lifeblood of praise, affirmation, or reassurance to support my happiness."  

I don't know about you, but when I read that, I had a lightbulb moment.  We all know people who can be the "happiness vampires" in our lives, sucking out our happiness and zest for life with their doomy gloomy negativity or self-centeredness.  Or, maybe we're those "happiness vampires" for others.  Some of us are blessed to have more people in our lives who boost us up than the "happiness vampires."  The danger of these feelings and being too attached to this world (and its people) is what Gretchen is writing about--allowing ourselves to be on a daily emotional rollercoaster ride whose ups and downs are determined by the people around us and their emotions.  

Being independently happy isn't necessarily selfish (unless, of course, it becomes your sole focus in life!).  What I think Gretchen is getting at is that we will be happier, and consequently, the people around us will be happier, if we don't mirror back the negativeness of the "happiness vampires," and we're happy enough independently of others to not live from one moment of praise or reassurance to the next.  

Empathy is a beautiful thing, and we all need other people with which to share in life's ups and downs and to make us feel understood.  The danger, though, is depending on others too deeply and allowing them to knock us down or be the only way we feel built up.  

So, build-in some happiness in your life!  Follow Gretchen's 3 steps: 

1. Know yourself and figure out what you love.  
2. Actually schedule what you love in your life.  
3. Foster strong, long-lasting relationships with people who love you, and love yourself (not because you're selfish, but because you're a beautiful child of God).  

How have you built-in happiness in your life?  Do you already do some of these things?