Everyday Happiness - Finding Harmony and Bliss
Education:Self-Improvement
Well friends, it may not be what you think. THere was some reflection and insights for sure. Buckle up, this is a super authentic episode.
Transcript:
Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day, through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life.
I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and back at episode 547 I mentioned that I was craving a change-up and we’d be enjoying amazing guests on the show for the month of December. It was it so much fun to be a listener of Everyday Happiness and not hear my own voice.
Getting to that point was laborious. It was a lot of time and effort on my team, but then, as we settled into December, it did feel like the business calm we were all craving had arrived in the background of the holiday crazies.
Taking a step back to truly be in the moment was the goal I was after in December. That was the intent. You know I love some twinkle lights, Christmas jammies and holiday cheer.
Well, I learned how much I love and missed recording this show. But more importantly, I realized how much happiness is a habit that we need to practice. Don’t get me wrong, I indulged in all the things that make me happy, including Christmas jammies, champagne and lots of social connection. Which are all great things for me. But during some reflection, it is the foundational happiness habits that are really upleveling my happiness and it starts with our awareness.
That’s why, before I was even convinced of the science, I knew in my gut that this podcast had to be short and daily. Because as humans we create habits, good or bad. Our habits are what supports us to flex that happiness muscle with ease and grace.
So my December intent was to indulge in social connection and live it up - which I thought would just burst my happiness bubble. The reality was a little different. The first two weeks of December I scheduled something for almost every night of the week. All fun things. All things I was very excited about putting on the calendar. And after about 8 days, I was exhausted and wanted to be in my christmas jammies at 6:00pm. I ended up postponing some of my plans in week 2 and week 3, because I had way over scheduled my social calendar. I found there was too much social connection, which is still hard for me to believe.
Then, the week before Christmas the children were out of school and we did a family road trip. We went up North, which I will have to share all the details in tomorrow’s episode, it’s too much to share today. But this time, we had very little scheduled and we could just be. Be present with the kids. We played games by the fire in the hotel lobby, listening to live music, sipping holiday drinks and hot coco. I finally got the desired effect I was looking for. Just to “be”.
A week later we were back at home, Annabelle and I cooking for Christmas Eve and wrapping last minute presents from Santa and it felt right. We played more board games and watched Christmas movies and didn’t really leave the house. It was perfect for us in this season of life.
So, what I learned is that my intuition was telling me to slow down and when I did, the Universe felt allied. I also learned that while I love social connection, it just can’t be back to back every night of the week. And in this season of my life, it can’t be at the expense of spending quality time with the children. And, what was even more fascinating was that my body craves more quiet time than it once did.
So I will take these insights into next year, make a note and when I am looking at Q4 in 2023 and all that it has to offer, I’ll remember these feelings and hopefully we can navigate another holiday season with ease and grace.
Until next time, kindness is contagious.
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Links: https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/
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