Week 10

*For explanation of The Happiness Experiment" go HERE .*


Last week's secrets:
Don't believe in yourself too much.
Don't face your problems alone.


Secret #19
Age is not to be feared.


" Older people are as happy as younger people. While they must make accommodations for age, seniors often report serene satisfaction with their life."


This is what I needed to hear since I'm turning 29 next week. I guess my biggest problem with getting older is that I don't feel that old. I don't feel like I'm almost 30. And I think that is what matters. How you feel. If you are 50 but you feel like your 20, that's how you'll live. If all you think about is how old you are, you're going to start feeling your age. 


"Surveys and an analysis of previous studies show that age is simply unrelated to levels of personal happiness."


Secret #20
Develop a household routine.


"We often feel overwhelmed by the chores that have to e done on a regular basis. We clean the kitchen, then the living room needs to be vacuumed, the yard needs to be mowed, and sixteen other things need to be done. Set up a reasonable schedule to do your work, and instead of facing an endless chore, you will have a list of tasks to accomplish each day. With a routine, you will not be lost in wondering what's next."


This is something that was one of my goals this year. I wanted to try and designate specific days to accomplish specific tasks. Such as entering receipts on Mondays, Clean house on Tuesdays, etc. It has actually helped to not feel so overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. Instead of saying "I have all these things that I need to do," I can say "Today I have these few things to get done and then I can do things I want."  Of course when the wedding season picks up that adds a few more things to my list, but I am finding that having a routine keeps it all from being too much. And not moving on to something else until the first task is finished is another good routine to get into. Otherwise, I would start one thing and not get it done before getting distracted by another thing and then none of them get done. 


"In studies of families, regularity in household routines improved daily personal satisfaction by about 5 percent."


Since this is week 10, I am going to give a quick review of all the secrets so far.


Your life has purpose and meaning.
Use a strategy for happiness.
You don't have to win every time.
Your goals should be aligned with one another.
Choose your comparisons wisely.
Cultivate friendships.
Turn off the TV.
Accept yourself-unconditionally.
Remember where you came from.
Limit yourself to thinking about one subject as you lie down to sleep.
Friendship beats money.
Have realistic expectations.
Be open to new ideas.
Share with others how important they are to you.
If you're not sure guess positively.
Believe in yourself.
Don't believe in yourself too much.
Don't face your problems alone.
Age is not to be feared.
Develop a household routine.


Those are the first 20 secrets. Keep working on them and let me know how this experiment is going for you.