Happy + A Random Act Of Kindness

First, some background.

At the beginning of the year, I made a resolution to make monthly resolutions. Turns out, a woman named Gretchen Ruben did a similar thing, wrote a book about it, and it became #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. I had no idea. Her book is called ‘The Happiness Project’. A friend of mine had been reading it, and when she started talking about it with me she was shocked to learn that I had never heard of it. She had been sure that my resolutions were inspired by this book. How intriguing!

I mentioned this coincidence, in passing, in a comment on a blog, and promptly forgot that I had ever mentioned it.

The other day I opened my mailbox and was treated to a random act of kindness.

Inside an envelope was a book plate, signed by the author of said book (Gretchen Ruben), sent to me from the writer of the blog that I commented on. Her & I are connected through friends, and read each other’s thoughts online, but have never met.

I promptly went out and bought the book and put the book plate inside.

Now, when I am able to read a few minutes here and there, not only am I being inspired to live with purpose and become a happier me, I am also reminded of the power of a kind gesture.

Thank-you, Nicole.

I’ve been reading the book, bit by bit, for a couple weeks now, and I’ve got to say, this Gretchen woman is intense. She’s definitely a Triple AAA personality and her approach to ‘the pursuit of happiness’ intrigues me because her approach is so scientific. She came up with charts, and lists, and commandments, and rules and she researched tons, and she quotes statistics like “people who have fun are 20% more likely to be happy”. She’s thorough. She’s dedicated. She makes my resolutions look like sissy-pissy-pants resolutions. Her year-long experiment yielded so many insightful nuggets into what it takes to be happy that I feel like I’ve landed on a goldmine of ideas that I can’t wait to try. Some of them are really hard and scary (like forcing herself to no longer require praise and recognition for things she does), and some of them are really genius and fun (like creating unique family traditions that transform her home into a ‘treasure trove of memories’).

But, I know myself. I am not a Triple AAA personality. I have no desire to take on as many behaviour changing challenges as she did all at once. But I am inspired to up the anti a little. To push myself to find more meaningful resolutions. Ones that challenge me and push me outside of my comfort zone. I’ve been really guilty of this lately...not pushing myself.

One ‘nugget’ that resonated with me was the concept that happiness comes in an ‘atmosphere of growth’. When we’re learning, growing, bettering ourselves...we are happier. Another nugget was in her section about having more fun...she put some serious effort into identifying things she truly found ‘fun’. Not things she thought she SHOULD find fun, but things that she truly enjoyed. So she thought back to her childhood – what did she like doing then? What brought her joy as a child might bring her joy now. This also resonated with me, because when I was a tween I took dance classes, and really enjoyed that. Recently I took part in a friends ‘Glee Club’, that was more dancing than singing, and I had SO MUCH FUN. I seriously felt like that 12 year old girl in jazz class again.

This got me thinking that for my September resolution I would figure out something I could do that would A) create an atmosphere of growth, and B) tap into something I enjoyed doing at a young age.

After much deliberation, I came up with my plan.

My resolution for September is to take the steps to start up my very own ‘Conversational French Club’. I was in French immersion from grades 1 – 12, and as a kid I enjoyed speaking French. Since graduating high school, however, I have lost nearly all of it. Warren & I’s trip to Paris highlighted that.

What will this club look like? I’m thinking a group of 6-8 adults, who at one point knew some French and are interested in getting it back. The group would meet every other week for an hour or two and speak French, with French dictionaries on hand. I’m thinking a 6 ‘meet’ commitment at first, with the possibility of continuing in the new year.

Now – I need to find these 6-8 adults...Facebook, here I come!