Happiness {6/7}: Like a Moody Teenager

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happinessParticipants in “Write 31 Days” pledge to write for 30 minutes on a single topic every day in October.  My topic?  Happiness.

 

One of the inspirations for choosing to think about happiness this month was the audiobook I’m in the middle of listening to.

The Happiness Project

On her website, Gretchen Rubin has posted a discussion guide including the following quote:

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

I am a people-pleaser.  I like making people laugh.  I like to take care of others.  I have a hard time saying “no” to requests because I like helping.  There’s something satisfying about swooping in and saving the day, Superman style.

With this in mind, the first part of this quote comes pretty natural to me.  I do feel happier when I’m doing something for others.

Sure that includes service in the larger world, but it at this point in life mostly involves my little family.

  • when I read the same book 3x in a row to Moe
  • when I let Cee skip handwriting for the day
  • when I write Elle a note with hearts and smilie faces
  • when I carry Bea all the everywheres

That’s all pretty easy.  I make them happy.  I feel happy.  Boom.  That should be the end of the quote.

But it’s not.  The second part of that statement– that’s trickier pill to swallow.

Reading the whole quote makes me groan like a moody teenager.  It’s like being told to eat more leafy green vegetables.   Fiiiiiiiiiiine. Okaaaaaaaaaaaaay.  Whateverrrrrrrr.

I hate to admit how much my attitude impacts my entire family dynamic.

(Pretend you are watching a political commercial right now.  What does your face look like?  Are you gagging?  Rolling your eyes?  Do you look like you smell a stink, your nose all wrinkled up?  That’s what my face looks like now, while making all the noises.)

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

It doesn’t matter how many times I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Moe if I’m being crabby about it.

do-little-things

The moment the thought enters my mind, “Family!  Family!  Look at all the lovely things I have done for you today.  Commence acts of gratitude and poems about how awesome I am,” it’s decision time.  I can either squash those feeling with a smile, or I can indulge them and undo any good from a recent sacrifice or service.
Resentment kills sacrifice.

With a life that’s completely geared towards meeting every need of my kids, every moment of the day– those thoughts pop up often.  There haven’t ever been any poems about how awesome I am.  Really though, it’s unfair to expect them.

I need to remember the actual quote, “Do little things with great love.”  Maybe I should get a wall tattoo of it or something.

Oh wait, I already did.

msb-6-cropped

It’s part of our gallery wall in our living room, because it’s a message I need to see.  Every.  Day.

My attitude of happiness will be the thing that best cultivates gratitude in my kids.  And it will make our days more enjoyable all around.

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.”

Nerp.  Bwrah.

Make the honesty stop.  Because now I’ve got to take responsibility for my own happiness by making my family happy through being happy myself.

 

Follow along via facebookbloglovin, or email subscription (above).

Day 1:  The Evolution of an Idea
Day 2:  In a Cave
Day 3:  The Pursuit
Day 4:  Peanuts Gang Style
Day 5: A Beautiful Death
Day 6/7:  Like a Moody Teenager
Day 8:   Survival of the Fittest Gardening
Day 9:  My Sunday Best

5 Comments


  1. // Reply

    I’ve fallen behind on my blogging so I didn’t know you’d started this series! I’m excited to go back and read the others (and I’m very impressed at the very idea of you accepting the challenge to write a post a day for 31 days!)

    And I had the exact same reaction as you to that quote. I’ll have to think about that one some more.


    1. // Reply

      Thanks, Jenny. It’s been good for my whole family that I’m trying to focus on happiness. 🙂




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