My five happiness resolutions

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It’s been just over three months now that I’ve been co-authoring this blog and that’s a lot of learning about the subject of happiness. So, in saying goodbye to 2010 and welcoming 2011 with open arms, I thought I’d put a spin on this year’s New Year’s resolutions. Sure, at 12:01 a.m. of January 1 of every year I always swear up and down to munch on less junk, exercise more and watch less Big Brother. And while I can’t promise I won’t mumble those same resolutions this New Year’s Day, what I can do is take what I’ve learned and put together my list of five happiness resolutions for 2011.

1. Run it out. Okay, so my list is topped with an exercise resolution. And maybe this is a bit of a rerun resolution. But looking back over my 10 things that make me happy list, #8 is a good sweaty, sore-muscle inducing run. With the Sporting Life 10-kilometre race in my cross hairs, this goal will reunite running and I again.

2. Sharpen my interviewing skills. Following my post on boosting your children’s happiness, lately I feel like I’ve been slipping. I’ve been more focused on shuttling them off after school to the library or sprint-grocery shopping and chatting with them less about their days and how they’re feeling. Be it resolved to talk it up my kids more at the end of their days to keep in touch with how they’re doing.  

3. Manage my mommy moods. I’m nearing the end of my holidays and as I write this, I’m in serious referee mode between my two kids. I love having them home and hanging out lazily all day with them and cuddling them constantly. But I’m also tired of the fighting, of my kids refusing to play on their own, of them whining and complaining. As a result, I’m maybe, er, a little more tightly wound right now than I normally am—not really a place I want to be. So I need to once again remind myself about Dr. Christine Carter’s advice to practice gratitude in order to be a happier mom.

4. To do unto others as you would have them to unto you. Oh, that Thong Mom. She reminds me that I need to keep my judgy ways in check, something that can get out of hand if I let it. Because I know how I felt over the holidays when my son lost it in the grocery store, screaming so hard I swore he was going to pass out while my daughter, completely unfazed, belted out Christmas carols right next to him, all while I’m desperately trying to make it through a lengthy check out line. I felt those eyes staring. So along with practicing gratitude, I also need to remember what it’s like to feel judged by others.

5. Accept the things I cannot change.  For me, that means accepting the days that are bad and move on. As Dr. Russ Harris pointed out, days and moods are like the weather and inclement weather and moods happen. What do they say, tomorrow is a new day?

Readers, do you have any happiness resolutions? Please share with us in the comment section below.