People often focus on the “big things” that happen in their lives, without giving much thought or credence to small things that seemingly make little-to-no difference. When it comes to happiness, I’ve found that the little things matter a lot. So, I’m taking this moment to celebrate the “little” things I’ve done since losing my job that have brought me many hours of joy (in no particular order):
- Learned to knit (something I’ve been saying I was going to do for more than 5 years, but never got around to )
- Frequented my local library (OMG! I am so in love with audiobooks. What was I thinking ordering all those books from Amazon, when the public library offers so much for FREE–including online downloads? If you haven’t been to the library lately, you’re seriously missing out!)
- Changed my hair color (nothing spectacular/radical… I’ve been using reddish colors for years, and decided to try a rather ordinary dark brown, which, it turns out, makes me look a lot younger. Whoo hoo!)
- Created a blog (yep… this one)
- Met some great new people (As I mentioned, I’ve lived in Delaware for over 6 years and hadn’t met anyone. I’ve managed to forge relationships with some pretty fantastic, like-minded people, who are very inspirational/supportive.)
- Lost 15 pounds (I’ve got a lot more to go–which is at least another post, if not blog, unto itself–but I’m celebrating the progress I’ve made.)
- Explored opportunities to do some other things I’ve always wanted to do…
Which brings me to the next set of things on my agenda… In addition to the things I’ve already accomplished, this year, I also plan to
- Learn at least one foreign language (Portuguese first, then Spanish and French… I’m applying to an immersion program to spend a year in Brazil learning Portuguese. Wish me luck!)
- Lose 75 lbs (again, I’ll address the weight issue in separate post)
- Launch a business (I’ve had the same dream for my life since I was 16–which tells me I’ve known what I’ve wanted my life to be like for a very long time. This year, I stop dreaming and start doing!)
What about you? What “little things” do you need to celebrate? What else is on your agenda? How can I (and/or the Monday Morning Margarita gang) help you?
Sunday, 6:55pm–and I can’t wait for tomorrow…
I love Mondays!
Monday Morning Margarita 
The “little things”. I love them. This is a cold that we all need to catch. I will be marking my 19th wedding anniversary this month. A fever of love and commitment catches me every year around this time. Why? Those “little things” have built up in my system and there is no cure. If there is “I don’t want it”.
I have never ever really read blogs, but this particular one and especially this post really spoke to me. Well actually all your posts have some bit of nugget that I especially enjoy. But in this one, the idea of small steps, mini miracles, little rays of happiness, and ultimately better planning for the future all spoke to me.
I’m forever thinking about the future and not living in the present. My present is not even bad, I just get stuck on the next move, the next idea, the next thing that will make me happy vs just being well happy where I currently am. My 2011 was filled with soo many “little” things as well as major things. And to tell you the truth, in some instances, the “little” things carried more weight than the big ones in terms of how happy I was with the outcome or how its setting me up for my future.
The major little things for me is that I’m blessed, grounded, nurtured, acknowledging my flaws, helping my friends, being a semi decent girlfriend and seeing the smiles on my sons face. My agenda is long, but I am def working on it in stages to not overwhelm myself, which i tend to do.
How can MMM help? By doing exactly whats its doing, letting me know I’m not alone in a quest to happiness and giving good insightful aha moments.