Starting my journey à la the Happiness Project – I  realized pretty quick that my journey is about finding my purpose. I’m pretty happy all in all but I feel like a jelly fish – I just float where the current takes me – thus my purpose project was born!

I started Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project. This book, has given me some great insights that are helping me to define how to go about finding my purpose. This fits nicely with living up to my potential aka living my best life.

The Oxford Living Dictionary defines purpose as –

noun –  A person’s sense of resolve or determination 

verb – Have as one’s intention or objective.

I did answer the 2 questions posed on  LiveMyBestLife.com (read my post from last week). I found the questions slightly challenging to answer. To me, it felt like I was coming from a negative place to have to answer. I already beat myself up about what I’m not doing. I want to focus on the good things I’ve got going on and my successes in order to keep me energized and evolving.  However, this exercise DID get me thinking and acting, so in the end it was a worthwhile.

Here are the questions and answers that popped in my mind without having to think:

What would I like to do that I’m not doing?
⇒ Be organized

What am I doing that I wish I wasn’t?
⇒ Procrastinating

Between answering those questions and diving into The Happiness Project (I am halfway through the book as of today). I am motivated to keeping digging and exploring to find out what it is I am supposed to be doing and exactly how being more organized and not procrastinating will lead me to my purpose. Every chapter of The Happiness Project has had either an ah-ha moment or some other take away for me and is guiding me on my 30 day challenge.

Unlike Rubin, I started my project randomly. I made the decision to “just get it done”. My project also differs from Rubin’s as she didn’t want to wait for a crisis to remake her life. My project is born out of a crisis and wanting to “remake my life”.

Rubin identified 12 resolutions, one for each month of the year, that would direct her project. As she worked to identify those she had overarching principles that emerged that she called her 12 commandments. These principles help her as she worked through her monthly resolutions. Rubin also benefited from making a chart and keeping track of her successes and misses – getting that gold star is a motivation for her. (Her approach was much more organized and thought out than mine).

Working through the questions and thinking about what I’ve been reading I came up with 12 of my own “commandments” to keep me focused and moving toward my goals.

• Be Jennifer* – this is one of Rubin’s gems. This is more meaningful to me than “just be yourself”
• Don’t over think it
• Act like I want to feel* – this is another of Rubin’s and I found it to be a great reminder that I put at the top of my daily accomplish list.
• Just get it done
• Acknowledge what is important to me
• Focus on one thing at a time
• Worry less
• No judgements
• Set measurable goals for myself
• Laugh more
• Be generous
• Be kind

How am I challenging myself and how it is going so far?

This first few days have been a mixed bag. The big take away so far is my realization to “acknowledge what is important to me”. It dawned on me that I don’t always do that for one reason or another; in order to accommodate others or to fit in with the “cultural norm”, because I’m “supposed” to do/be a certain way. It was a break through to identify that this has been a roadblock for me. Now, that I can acknowledge what is important to me I’m able to start removing this blockage to finding my purpose.

Yesterday, Mr. Fantastic and I hiked. I need the mileage under my belt in preparation for my August hiking trip. We got a later start then we intended (along with a stressful situation that manifested itself). We made it up to Bogus Basin and slogged through 9.8 long, hot miles of the Round the Mountain Trail. I put the “act like I wanted to feel” into action but there were some nagging issues that had to be worked out along the way. Mr. Fantastic’s break through came at the realization that we both have our health and we are both out doing what we want (and he is not having to care for an invalid).

Today, my Monday workout, felt easier because my attitude was lighter. I also got some additional hill work in (more prep for my trip). While I was I out I had some epiphanies (as I often do when I’m out hiking or walking). The biggest one is now one of my commandments. Acknowledge what is important to me.

Since I started this series as a 30 day challenge my goal is to check in every day with my progress and how my commandments are helping me stay the course to finding my purpose.