Habits......Disciplines....and Time

Tonight, I post day 60 of accountability - to all of you regarding my HappyUP!!!'s. While I have worked on this in my journal for a year, I didn't do the formal process every single day. I did continue to return to it after I did several 7-14 day excercises. I had done the HappyUP!!! process enough that, while not a daily habit, it was always there in the background. It had left an imprint.

Now, as I get ready to post day 60 - I look back and go, "Day One was just yesterday." I also reflect upon how much more powerful this self-improvement tool has been to my outlook now that I have added some accountability and discipline to it.

The ever present "they" - say that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. No generalization works for everyone. I can say that after 30 days of doing this, I wasn't going to stop anytime soon. I internally felt that if the HappyUP!!!-ing was taking away time from other things in my life, it was the other things that had to go. I have not dropped anything on purpose to make room for the HappyUP!!!-ing. Heck, it only takes 10 minutes a day. Maybe it cost me a few minutes of sleep because I was 10 minutes later to bed. As I did the JollyJottings during the day, perhaps it was a welcome little few minutes of break that I needed. Everything still seems to be getting done at the office.

When the HappyUP!!!-ing moved from an "I gotta do it" - to just an "it's something I do," that is the point when a new habit became ingrained. It was probably around day 30. I could go back through the archives and actually pick out the day.....but, what would be the point? So I could say, "it takes me 14 days or 18 days or 28 days to ingrain a habit" for me? Who cares?

Let's bring it home - maybe introducing a disciplined attempt at HappyingUP!!! isn't for you. I would only say that I think you have 10 minutes you can find every day for the next 30 days. Go to blogger.com. The account is free. If not HappyUP!!!, what will you commit to doing differently for the next 30 days that might change your life? Don't know? Well, try HappyUP!!! Just starting SOMETHING may take you in the direction of your dreams and purpose that you can't access right now.

You see, if you don't move from where you are standing - the landscape never changes. If the scenery doesn't change, how can you expect your perspective to? Do you think that a blinding revelation is going to come down and annoint you? Well, I suppose it could. I hope it does. My experience goes back to a quote I heard a long time ago, "most things that fall from the sky are decidedly unpleasant."

If 60 days passes by - like it was just yesterday, then 30 days will seem like it was just this morning. If you operate a little slower, 60 days may seem like 2 days ago and 30 days will seem like yesterday. Small, consistent, 10 minute changes are easy to do.....and they could lead you to somewhere you never dreamed of going.

I won't share where this has led me - because I don't like to put something out there that I am not 100% on. That's my issue. I can only tell you this. I do have a strong inclination that would never have materialized had it not been for this process. I will share it with you all when it is time. I can only tell you that it has the ability to impact many, many people in a positive way.

I caught a blog the other day - on how a guy is sick of the "positive cult." Now that Positive Psychology has made it's way to the forefront, more people are being given permission to make changes that they would not have made in a previously in a positive direction. For those that want to stay in the negative, they get uncomfortable. They don't want to see people leave their club. That is pretty much how I see how most things are when change happens. Your friends, your cronies, your family...they will be quick to point out how "that won't work," or "that is stupid." They are absolutely correct. It won't....for them. You are not them. You are you and you are a precious child. You are full of things that not even you can imagine for yourself. But, unless something changes, you will either be the same you tomorrow or a product of the "them's" that you are allowing to control your behavior.

To that guy who is sick of the "positive cult" - I would say, "dude, don't worry about it. Stay as you are. No one is making you do anything. You make a choice to stay how you are. I make a choice not to listen to you. I still love you like any brother here on Earth. I believe with my heart and soul that I am helping people that want to be helped. I am not here for you and where you are at right now. You can always call me. I may even act like I am listening. I will not try to change you. If you want help, I'll be there to pull you up but I will not let you pull me down. If you just want to complain, I'll give a sympathetic ear but, if it's chronic complaining, I know you have someone else to call. "

All we can do - is try to be the change that we seek. I started this process from a place where I was pretty content with myself. I feel that I have moved up the continuum from there. I feel like I am becoming a better person. I hope my negative friend mentioned above can be as happy for me as I am happy for him that he has fulfilled his goal of maintaining the status quo. It's all good......

....I just want good - to become gooder.

What is happiness? - who knows? I saw a study about twins conjoined at the forehead. They were fully grown with careers. The possibility of disconnecting them was given to them as an option. They said, "why would we do that? We are happy."

"Oh, how could they be. They don't know happiness" - that is not for me...or you...to say. Brighter minds than mine have tackled this question of what is happiness for centuries. I will never spend that much time studying the subject. I only know one thing....

Wherever you are today on YOUR own happiness scale - you can move up if you want to. I wish that for everyone. The PURSUIT of happiness is what our founding fathers died for....and what I hope you will devote 10 minutes a day toward for the next 30 days.