Thanksgiving 2010: I’ve got lots to be thankful for

Thanksgiving 2010.  I’ve got lots to be thankful for. The first people that come to mind are my parents and grandparents.  I am blessed to have my mother, my stepfather, and my maternal grandparents.  From childhood until now, they show me every day that they are all the family I need. I am thankful that [...]

November 2010 Happiness Project: Attitude Adjustment

Attitude is everything.  And I firmly believe that life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it. This month’s happiness project focus is on ATTITUDE.  Let that marinate for a minute. How does your attitude affect your happiness? Attitude is defined as your manner or disposition, but also describes [...]

Things All Happy People Know

The Black Doctor has a great list of 10 things happy people know.  It’s worth a complete read.  Here, I note some of my favorites: #1. Share Your Happy Thoughts: Let your children know how great it feels to spend the day with them. Brag to your spouse about the unexpected compliment your boss paid [...]

August 2010 Happiness Project: Have FUN!

Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project encourages us all to focus on FUN for the month of August. With all that we have going on in our lives, the economy, and the recent jobless numbers, it is sometimes difficult to focus on fun. The drudgery of the daily grind and trying to “get by” make it difficult [...]

June Happiness Project – Order (Mom, Are You Listening?)

This month’s focus is on ORDER.  I am a natural creature of habit and order is important to me.  So I can easily identify on how order in one’s life contributes to a sense of well-being and cultivates happiness. When I think order, I immediately think of clutter.  My mother has a habit of holding [...]

Why Do You Blog?

I get lots of questions like this from friends and strangers. They say, “you have a full time career, why are you blogging?” My responses vary depending on the audience. In my most honest and pure moments I admit that it’s cheaper than therapy. Life isn’t easy.  And it doesn’t come with an instruction manual.  My [...]

May 2010 Happiness Project: Mindfulness

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, writes on her blog the theme for May’s focus: Mindfulness Mindfulness can bring many benefits. It brings clarity and vividness to present experience. It may help people end unhealthy habits and patterns. It can enhance a sense of well-being and calm troubled spirits. The more I think about [...]

March Happiness Project: Work It!

March’s theme for blackgirlgrown’s 2010 Happiness Project is WORK IT!  That’s what we’ve been doing over here at blackgirlgrown.  Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin notes: I’ve become increasingly convinced that the atmosphere of growth is far more important than generally recognized. Studies show that novelty and challenge—though they can make us uncomfortable, frustrated, uneasy, etc.—are [...]

February Happiness Project: Give Love

February’s theme for blackgirlgrown’s 2010 Happiness Project is LOVE.  Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin notes that the more love in your life, the happier you are.  This is in no means limited to romantic love.  It is the love of family, friends, children, coworkers, and mankind.    A French proverb that I’ve quoted a million [...]

2010 Happiness Project: January Wrap Up

Our 2010 Happiness Project for January focused on getting more energy. For me, that meant getting more quality sleep and more exercise. More Quality Sleep: Grade B+ Those who know me know well my great affinity for restful slumber.  I am likely to choose sleep over almost anything. But that didn’t necessarily translate into quality [...]

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