Archive for the ‘Happiness Challenge’ Category

Happiness Challenge – Changes

Monday, January 4th, 2016

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

I’ve taken a respite the past ten days from sharing in my blog.  I’m on a trip to wrap up the scene what was once our Maui office.  We found it too difficult to do business here being five (and six hours) behind the East Coast.  Everything in life changes and what once seemed like a good idea, stopped being a good idea.  So we are changing things up.

While here, we also decided to take a different tack with the blog.  I’m going to be writing more about the professional elements of improving business by doing better project management.  I’ve benefited immensely by contemplating the topics explored in this blog over the past several months, yet I have much to contribute too in the world of enhancing business performance.   There are only so many hours in the day so I’m choosing to focus my time and attention in my writings for a time on how to create a high performing business – something also near and dear to my heart.

Happiness Challenge – Marketing

Tuesday, December 29th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Had a wonderful end of the year, new year kick off meeting with the Director of Digital Marketing today.  Suitable as the word of the day is marketing for today’s happiness challenge.

When I was at Harvard Business School – the professor of marketing said “all of success was about marketing.”  While this is an “of course” this is what this guy would say, I actually agree with him.  And I know I’m much happier when our marketing efforts generate the desired results (or better).  But getting great results is not always the case.  Yet even in that situation, I still find myself happy as I’m in the game of business and playing it with all my heart.

Happiness Challenge – Compare

Monday, December 28th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

My daily blog post has taken a back seat to the challenges of the season.   I’m several days late on this daily challenge.  Please forgive me people who are following this.

I backed out of the driveway this morning rushing as I was late for an appointment and clipped the recycle can. It took the rearview mirror off it's mount. I see this as a good omen to not look back.  It is after all a wonderful day wherever I am.

I backed out of the driveway this morning rushing as I was late for an appointment and clipped the recycle can. It took the rearview mirror off it’s mount. I see this as a good omen to not look back. It is after all a wonderful day wherever I am.

I had started off writing this blog post looking at the word “compare”  but was really looking at stuff through the term contrast.   According to the Daily Writing Tips, “In general use, such as in writing a “compare/contrast” essay, compare means “find the similarities” and contrast means “find the differences.”

So lets compare the similarities between this blog post and the previous one I just deleted.  I was writing about my daily yoga practice – I do yoga wherever I am.  And how that was “different” than my voice mail message – that says “It’s a wonderful day wherever  I am.”   So in comparison – whatever it is, is happening wherever I am.   This is the common thread through all of my existence – wherever I am.

It feels worthwhile to contemplate “whatever it is, is happening wherever I am.”   How am I to know what is happening elsewhere except through another’s reporting filter?  If I am not there, I am not experiencing the happening.  But when I hear the report of what has happened elsewhere,  the reporting of it, is what is happening where I am.  (Even if I am the one who is doing a reporting of a past event – which is now a memory). Sooooo, what takes precedence – a past report or my actual wonderful experience in the present?  For my ultimate happiness, well I know the answer.  Reacting in any form to any type of report feels like emotional hijacking.  It’s all just information – who I am in the moment defines how I assimilate the information.

Happiness Challenge – Shine

Thursday, December 24th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Holiday bling makes the whole house shine. Merry Christmas.

Holiday bling makes the whole house shine. Merry Christmas.

I’m slammed this time of year – between the holidays, year end wrap up for the biz and new year planning.  I’m being challenged to meet this daily requirement I’ve set myself to write a blog post every day.  So it’s just a coincidence I’m on day 24 of this challenge and it’s Christmas Eve. I did manage to decorate the house while my daughters were visiting over the weekend.   It does make the whole house shine to put up holiday bling.  I’ve never been much for fake trees – but this white one does the trick when part of my standard holiday mojo is to head to somewhere warm.   A live tree would just be left to shed all it’s needles and become a fire hazard.

Today’s word for the happiness challenge is to shine.  I was reading something in Psychology Today yesterday about a cognitive behavioral therapy technique to rewire your brain so you like yourself more.  For thirty days, before you go to sleep, you jot down three things you liked about yourself that day.  When you wake up you review the list.  After thirty days of this you naturally go to what you like about yourself rather than what you dislike about yourself.  This was somewhat like my 66 day challenge to love myself.  So, I don’t need to do this for myself.  But I know sometimes I fall prey to my negative recollections of events past – family members showing up four hours late for a holiday party for example. I’d prefer to focus on the times they shined rather than on these times things were not going so well for them and they left all of us hanging.  So as part of my happiness challenge, I’m going to do the three things I like about people whenever I think about them – especially if my first thought is something negative about them.

Merry Christmas everyone…..

Happiness Challenge – Judgment

Thursday, December 24th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Today, I’m holding myself capable of achieving my goals. Whenever I fall into judgment, it takes the winds out of my sails.  I realize I am my own worst critic. If others want to waste their life force by judging me, that is their issue, not mine. But me judging me – well now that is something I can do something about.  This requires using my better judgment – to take action rather than machinating about the self-critical judgments du jour.  Every moment I’m either creating new habits or reinforcing an existing habit.  Using a benevolent judge as part of my executive functioning brain helps me create happier supportive habits where I approach life from a place of “I want to” rather than the “I have to” prison of the critical self-judgment.

I got reminded of how much self critical judgement impacts me recently when a friend wanted to pursue a health and wellness program with me by joining a gym together.  She is self critical occasionally about how she has let herself go and really has to get serious about doing something about it.  Yet this type of admonishing judgment does not inspire me to join the gym – it actually does the opposite.  I was wondering what was my reluctance in joining her in this quest – even though I do think it could and would be fun.  So, I decided to approach it from what inspires me.  I had recently joined another friend in Seattle at her water aerobics class at the same fitness chain.  If I joined this gym, I could go to water aerobics here, make more friends in this area and then go to that same fitness chain when visiting my friend in Seattle at no additional cost.  Now I’m inspired.

Happiness Challenge – Transitions

Monday, December 21st, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

I turned the corner on this happiness challenge - being happier is also translating into being more productive.

I turned the corner on this happiness challenge – being happier is also translating into being more productive.  I got all my work done early today and had time to make my next hat design.

Voila – it’s day 22 and I feel remarkably happier.  I’ve had an ongoing debate with several friends on if it takes 21 or 66 days to change a habit.  I say, if it only takes 21 days, then of what consequence is it to go for 66 days?  As you’ve created the habit then it’s automatic anyhow. Today is also a natural day of transitions as it’s the winter solstice.   The days  will slowly start getting longer and for that I am happy as well.  I’m learning there are numerous variations in shades of gray lately with all the rain we have been having.   Whether it’s perceptual or me getting used to the winter rains, the doldrums of the winter weather seems to lift a bit after the solstice.

Today, I also easily did the happiness yoga flow.  There was no having to force myself to do it.  I just did it.  I’m wondering if it helped  that I had a hundred more happiness yoga flow mats delivered to my office for a New Year’s promotion we’re doing for the Happiness Project Course.   Or if there really is something to this 21 day rule for creating a new habit.

Besides the yoga, I’m on a campaign to approach whatever I’m doing with engaged enthusiasm.  I worked on updating the 2016 budgets for our biz with my executive assistant and I dare say, it was the most pleasant time I’ve ever had working on this.  We are both full of hope for  the creative initiatives we have in the works for the coming year.   We finished the budget early so I got to start the design on the next hat for my adventure buddy.  Her hat design reflects one of our great adventures this past year.

 

Happiness Challenge – Value

Sunday, December 20th, 2015
We solved the problem of small animals falling into the window wells.

We solved the problem of small animals falling into the window wells.

Michelle LaBrosse CCPM, PMP, PMI – ACP, RYT

Today I’m reveling in the value of being a lazy engineer.  On our morning walk, Rosebud very much wanted to check out the small space behind the house.  Now we know her nose still works after her surgery to fix a leaking salivary gland.  She discovered a live opossum in the window well.  (It was not playing dead all that well – we could tell it was still very much alive) And thank god for that as the last two opossums did not fare so well and we only discovered them as rotting, decaying, stinky, carcasses.

These window wells are emergency egress for basement bedrooms so we cannot cover them.  When we saw the live opossum, I immediately thought ladder and went to get the kitchen step stool as I did not want to work that hard to get the opossum out of there if at all possible.. (The value of me being short saved the day for the opossum).  It took about ten minutes for the opossum to find its way out via the ladder (yes we did google it to verify the opossum was a good climber).

Happiness Challenge – Maturity

Saturday, December 19th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Here is Rosebud who I share with a family in Haines. She needed surgery to fix her salivary gland that had burst and was filling a sac below her chin. She made the trip south to get this fixed. She is heading back north the end of the month.

Here is Rosebud who I share with a family in Haines. She needed surgery to fix her salivary gland that had burst and was filling a sac below her chin. She made the trip south to get this fixed. She is heading back north the end of the month.

Doing the “right” thing for me feels like happiness.  Allowing myself this privilege is my measure of maturity.  It’s beating to my own drummer in my own way eskewing what “tradition” dictates I “should” do that brings me the most enduring joy.

I have had my own pet since I was 13.  My parents said if I could figure out how to get my own miniature toy poodle and could figure out how to cover all the expenses for it, I could have a dog. None of us realized that would happen in a matter of days, but it also coincided with me getting a newspaper route that helped me pay for her care as well.  It brings me great happiness to be able to care for these beings in my charge this way.  It is who I am.

I’ve had dogs ever since.  Every once in a while one of my dogs finds its way to being a pet for some other family who needs her (myriad reasons – spouse passes, kids become attached when they are dog sitting and some tragedy happens in the family, etc).  I’m very good with puppies and have a knack for creating very loving dog companions.  So usually when I release one of these pets to another family, within a year or so I am blessed with my next puppy.

Yet I do still help these families care for these pets – especially when something happens to the dog where it requires significant medical care. I’ve had people admonish me for this level of care taking as this is not their custom – but really who shares their beloved pets with others in need  anyhow?  I do this level of sharing and care taking for one reason – it brings me satisfaction and I feel for me it is the right thing to do.

Being enthusiastically engaged requires the maturity to follow the path right for me, regardless of convention.

Happiness Challenge – Conscientious

Friday, December 18th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI, RYT

I am writing this a day late as I was not happy enough to write this yesterday.  Part of the day was absolutely phenomenal as I got to spend it meeting some amazing new folks who are supporting Cheetah Learning’s Accelerated Exam Prep for the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Professional (PMP) exam.  I drove up to Seattle to meet them at the class they were teaching (and taking).

While the class was great and meeting them all was fantastic (the bane of a virtual company is I rarely meet the people who work with and for me), the drive there and back was through heavy traffic and heavy rain.  A drive that in good weather and low traffic takes a little over two hours, took me four hours each way.  I got in touch with a persona that is a part of me I call BS Betty.   She at times direct opposition to overly responsible Rebecca.  Betty calls BS on the things super conscientious  Rebecca feels are a good idea.  And this is where sometimes being conscientious does not lead to improving happiness – in the short term.

Happiness Challenge – Motivation

Wednesday, December 16th, 2015

Michelle LaBrosse, CCPM, PMP, PMI-ACP, RYT

Practicing the half moon pose in a several hour meeting at the bank.

Practicing the half moon pose in a several hour meeting at the bank.

Motivation feels like something that is external to me whereas inspiration feels like something that is internal.   I’m far better with inspiration than with motivation.  Motivation feels like I’m mustering up the discipline to do something I “have” to do whereas inspiration is something I want to do.  I’m not a big fan of “motivation.”   I’ve decided my happiness challenge yoga practice is with having a pose I work on all week – I’m inspired to do that.  But to do that I have to warm up.  And then I’m naturally inclined to do the relaxation poses.  And there you go, I’ve done an entire yoga practice.  That did not require me to be motivated in any way.

But looking at the word motivation – I wonder at times what are my motives for wanting things one way or another.   Like how is it I’m so motivated to be happier – it’s not like I did not already start out pretty happy.   Maybe I’m concerned that my future self may not be so happy with a health issue so I am inspired to do yoga to create a future reality where I’m older and in continued great shape (in all realms).  I have seen so many older folks with health issues that make them pretty unhappy (and fairly isolated).  I see myself experiencing a much different, more uplifting and empowered reality.  And then I wonder well how would this be any different than how I’ve enjoyed my pretty amazing life thus far?   It’s always been and will always be about my attitude of enthusiastically enjoying every moment for whatever is presenting itself at the time.   I got to the point where I’ve adopted certain dietary practices for how it makes me feel right now – not some far off impact.   Doing yoga is the same thing  – I feel fantastic in the moment when I do yoga.