If I were to measure my happiness right now, from a scale of 1 to 10 I would have to say I am at a 8.5. I’m happiest at night. If not speaking makes you an unhappy person then I’d rate myself a 3 in the morning. I guess I just keep all my happiness inside in the mornings. Last night my family was visibly annoyed by my vigorous expression of happiness.
You would think people know what makes them happy. Do we need to measure our happiness to know that we are happy? Could we be happier if we tracked and measured our happiness? Yes, I think so. Knowing what makes me unhappy is as important.
Rejected Theories on Happiness provided by The Happiness Project. I’d have to say I agree with them.
John Stuart Mill: “Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so.”
Willa Cather: “One cannot divine nor forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them…”
Eric Hoffer: “The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.”
Shout out what makes you happy.
1-2-3 GO!
My kids, laughing, being dorky, engaging in deep conversation, listening, solving problems, learning new things, healthy mind body spirit, good sex, working hard, helping others Discover Their B*a*g, simple things, the mobile hanging in my kitchen window, when my kids learn by me doing and not telling, AND
the journey towards achieving a MEANINGFUL GOAL, like being happy and healthy.
To me a goal is more tangible if I can see results plotted. The act of plotting my progress connects MORE neurons in my brain, even if that picture reveals I need a redirection of efforts or strategy. When I can visually tie actions to results I LEARN. It’s a map of my personal experience and it is very powerful.
Visual Learning (Wikipedia)
- Retention
- According to research, students better remember information when it’s represented and learned both visually and verbally.
- Comprehension
- Students better comprehend new ideas when they are connected to prior knowledge.
- Organization
- Students can use diagrams to display large amounts of information in ways that are easy to understand and help reveal relationships and patterns.
Visualising data – When working with data, students build data literacy as they collect and explore information in a dynamic inquiry process, using tables and plots to visually investigate, manipulate and analyze data. As students explore the way data moves through various plot types, such as Venn, stack, pie and axis, they formulate questions and discover meaning from the visual representation.
“Precognitive visuals are those that we process long before we even know that we are processing them.” – Dan Roam, The Back of a Napkin Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures
Post a Goal Your Community Can Rally Around.
Plot the results. Journal to reflect on actions that led to the results.
Mark. Reflect. Adjust.
SMART Goal for my health and happiness
S is for Specific - I am happiest when I have a healthy body filled with energy. I will learn information about being healthy. I will apply what I have learned. I will log what I eat, when I exercise and be mindful of my body and it’s response to my actions.
M is for Measure – I will measure and log weight loss, body composition, energy level, how much sleep I get, actions taken towards my goals
A is for Attainable – Steady as I go.
R is for Realistic – A few pounds a week.
T is for Time Bound – Cement in my lifestyle a healthy way of being by April 2012.
Pick A Meaningful Goal, Learn, Apply, Plot Your Way, Adjust
It can be scary. Just writing out your goals can bring on fear of losing your old comfortable ways. You might disappoint yourself. AND You may totally astonish yourself.
