Happiness Project Kickoff: August is Mindfulness Month

The big day is here! It’s time to start my Happiness Project in earnest. I’m going to post here the schedule of areas of focus for each month, but I’ll only put the resolutions for the current month. I’ve got resolutions made for each month, but I want to reserve the right to modify them based on further study of happiness and on my experience with my other resolutions.

So, here’s the big plan!

August – Mindfulness
Focus: Bring more awareness to my emotions and identify needs that I may not be meeting adequately.

Resolutions:

-Daily emotions log (at least 3 times a day, log my emotional state and the circumstances surrounding the emotional state. Analyze weekly for patterns.)
-Be aware of judgements (without trying to change them or judging myself for having them)
-Breathe in a quiet moment (at least once a day, take a moment to just breathe. Thich Nhat Hanh recommends using a red light (traffic light and/or brake lights) as a cue to breathe and relax. I’ll start with this as a cue, but I’ll have to find something else on days I don’t drive. Maybe every time I check my blog stats. That would give me dozens of chances to breathe during the day.)

September – Self Care
Focus: Do those things I know (or suspect) will help put me in a positive physical and emotional state.

October – Order
Focus: Complete nagging tasks and make my home more of a refuge of calm.

November – Writing
Focus: Jump start my writing practice and make it a part of my daily routine again.

December – Fun
Focus: Let myself have a ball.

January – Explore
Focus: Go out on a bit of a limb and try some things I haven’t done before.

February – Marriage
Focus: Increase happiness in my bond with my husband.

March – Motherhood
Focus: Find and foster joy in my relationship with my children.

April – Friendship/Social Life
Focus: Build and strengthen relationships with my friends and my extended family.

May – Service
Focus: Experience the pleasure of giving to the wider community.

June – Sharing Happiness
Focus: Find and utilize ways in which to express my happiness in order to share it with others.

July – Practice and Reflect
Focus: Determine which practices are increasing my happiness and continue those. Reflect on the experience and record my impressions.

I have yet to determine my posting schedule for the duration of the project. I want to post at least once weekly, but I’d rather post daily or close to that. Any ideas for a weekly feature in addition to a weekly update/summary? What would you like to hear about my experience putting my Happiness Project into practice? What would you rather I avoid telling about?