I just realized that I’m too busy to think about anything negative. I haven’t posted in a while and I wanted to let everyone know that I’m still here and actively practicing living happily. Quick background, I started a new job, sold our house, bought a new fixer upper, and am now trying to remodel the entire home and get adjusted to my new position at work.
I love fixing things and I feel that it helps me relax. I demolished our bathroom and kitchen which was a great stress reliever. I’m in the process of rebuilding and there are many tasks that are fun like tiling the shower and sanding drywall 😉 I have learned to just space out and reflect, so I use that time as meditation. I love what I do at my day job and now it’s on a bigger scale than before. I have adjusted fairly easily since it’s a company I used to work for. Never burn your bridges, you never know where you may end up.
So, I realized that I’m super happy all the time lately. I would have to say about 95% of the time everything is all good in my hood or brain 😉 even though I did feel some stress from all the changes and all the things I have to get done. I want to be super productive at work, I want to ensure I complete all the renovations in the house, I want to spend most of my time with my family, and I want to just relax. So I have figured it all out today, with the help of my wife (She did all the work of figuring it out for me 🙂 )
What do I mean by being busy and happy? When I’m so focused at one task that I love doing, I usually just think about getting it done, which motivates me even more and I don’t have time for negative thoughts. This is just one way being busy keeps me happy. Another way to keep the stress at bay is to break up everything in to small manageable projects or tasks, which makes the project seem easier to do than it actually is. So remodeling is a hard job, and when you’re doing most of it yourself it takes a lot of time and energy to complete something. Using the bathroom as an example, the whole thing sounds overwhelming, you have to remove all of the old stuff and then rebuild and restructure everything. There is plumbing, electrical, tiling, tub install, leveling flooring, drywall, cement board, waterproofing, grouting, trim, shelving, paint, and a few other miscellaneous items that need to happen just for the bathroom. My trick, in my own brain, is to break everything down to smaller tasks, and this makes it seem easy. Day one demo, day two plumbing, day three electrical, day four tub install … and so on. This simple technique helps me stay stress free and calms all of the anxiety I have from such a huge project.
The great thing is, that I have been applying the same technique at work. I have a few direct reports and many projects I’m a part of. There is a list of items that have to get done and I’m the one who is responsible for all of them. To stay calm, stress free, and be happy, I break all my projects into small simple task that need to be completed. Since I understand that everything can’t be done all at once I focus on one thing at a time. I prioritize and accomplish all the tasks as needed. I have also learned that life is a roller coaster and I know there will be good days and bad days. The thing that drives me are all the good days. Knowing that bad days are just a part of the cycle, bad days don’t affect me anymore. I feel as if the bad is going to go away, as long as I keep focusing on what needs to get done at the time being, until the good stuff rolls back in.
To bring it all together: My best friend got some great advice and he passed it on to me. You just can’t be Superman 100% of the time. You will burn out (you know, cuss we’re human) 🙂 Anyway, life is about balance and doing a little bit of everything to be happy. Be Clark Kent, sometimes it’s good to fly under the radar and enjoy your daily life. Everything can’t be done in one day.
Being happy by being busy comes down to having a perfect balance of everything, such as working, playing, and relaxing. Don’t just focus on one goal and work till completion, you can start many new goals and work on them simultaneously. Set goals and give yourself some time to relax and enjoy your days. 🙂 Be busy and be happy.
Now You're Happy :) 