Forget giving up chocolate! The important resolutions to make this year…

Firstly, Happy New Year to you anyone who has been kind enough to have a little gander at this blog post...

This time last year a good friend of mine suggested creating a happiness jar for 2014.  I couldn’t find a jar at the time so used this tin which was once full of lovely beauty products!

So, throughout 2014 every time something nice happened, even just a tiny thing (like a lady in M&S liking my perfume) I’d write it down and pop it in my tin.  I also wrote down funny quotes from friends and family which has provided much entertainment as I opened my tin of happiness yesterday.  The point of doing this was to consciously appreciate the little things in life that can so easily pass you by, not just so they can bring a smile to your face at the end of the year, but so you get into the habit of noticing the happiness and humour that happens all the time…if you choose to notice it.

Favourite quote of the year...

I really want to kiss you, but don't want to make you ill. It's like a fat man wanting doughnuts but not being able to have any

Gratitude for 2015

This year, I’m going to do the same but with a new twist.  I’m also going to add things I’m grateful for.  I like to think I’m generally quite a grateful person and don’t often take things for granted but I also think it’s something we are all guilty of.  We can dwell on things we want to change or don’t have and forget to be thankful for the things we do have.  I was going through a bit of a miserable time a few years ago and came across a book called The Tools which spoke about something which I have bored my friends with ever since – The Grateful Flow.   The idea behind it is spending some time each day really thinking and feeling all the things you’re grateful for.  I find the best place for The Grateful Flow is the shower!  I simply think of all the things in my life I’m grateful for and when you get going, it’s hard to stop (hence the flow part) 

I really believe that when you pay attention and appreciate the little things in life that make you smile, you enjoy life more, rather than going about your day stuck in your own head trapped by your own thoughts and worries – we’ve all been there!  I place the same importance on gratitude.  As soon as you are actively grateful, on a daily basis, for all the good in your life, there is room for more good to come in.  Oprah Winfrey (one of my favourites) keeps a Gratitude Journal and here’s what she has to say about it.  It’s worth a watch - Oprah's Gratitude Journal.

In 2013 I gave up crisps for my new year's resolution (lasted as long as June)  and I have to say my resolution of starting my happiness jar in 2014 was far more enjoyable than the crisp deprivation of 2013.  So how about joining me in starting a jar (or tin) of happiness & gratitude for 2015?  A new year’s resolution you may actually enjoy!