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Mission 46: Do More Of What Makes You Happy
Why would we have a mission on doing things that make you happy in a weight-loss program?
Simple: research suggests that happy people tend to be more successful.
And the studies are clear – it’s not just that successful people are happier. Nope, it seems happy people are more likely to succeed.
Applying these findings to weight loss, we can see how being unhappy can undermine your motivation to exercise, stimulate your desire for emotional eating, and thwart your determination to persevere despite setbacks.
But being happy does the opposite. It makes you more motivated, gives you a greater sense of calm, and helps you to feel resilient in the face of obstacles.
So happiness can have a multiplier effect on our weight-loss results. It gives us energy and attitude to work all our missions. Making it two of our favorite things: smart and strategic.
In this mission then, let’s find some ways to make ourselves happier.
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Our Happy List of things that make you feel good: supportive: boyfriend; family; extended family. Your dog; your cat; your turtle; colorful clothes & accessories for cheerfulness.
Think about things you haven’t done for a long time: swim at local parks or the Y or at the beach; picnics; at neighborhood pool.
Take a little time to think about your childhood, youth and past decades to uncover the little pleasures that thrill you. Trampoline; the art of dating; dancing; singing; choirs; Christmas caroling; New Year’s Eve Progressive Dinner or pot luck dinner or brown bag it [brown bag with your own food] the hostess would
have the drinks; hobo parties; indoor winter picnic
Here are some ideas to get you going:
– Take bubble bath
– Dance to 50s, 60s, 70s 80s tunes
– Read a detective novel: Margaret Truman Capital Crime Series; Janet Evanovich writes detective
books [21 books] with a sense of humor; Gone with the Wind
– Watch a favorite TV show on DVD: Empire; Americas Got Talent; Dancing with the Stars; Ironside; Perry Mason; Murder She Wrote; Starsky & Hutch; Jack Lord in Hawaii Five O
– Go for a walk somewhere pretty: in a local park; Spring Grove Cemetery walking path includes
gardens; Krohn Conservatory; local Zoo; local parks
– People-watch in a café or on buses; trains; planes; trams; sit on your corner
– See an action film: Air force One; White House Down; 007
– Play a computer game: be careful playing online because you have an open server that anybody
can play – it is not secure which gives you viruses; Big Fish Club for $6.99 a month and you can purchase a free game – it’s a secure Big Fish server – will not give viruses on your computer
– Go ballroom dancing: RC has modern dance class
– Play with a pet
– Daydream – winning the lottery or a national contest
– Plan a project: building bookshelves; join a local book club; get married; have kids
– Write a poem to make you happy
– Join a choir: Glee Club
– Sit on a park bench and knit; needlework; read a book; watch the people going by
– Organize a drawer 15 minutes a day
– Listen to old albums: you can purchase USB record players where you can download the music to your computer or USB or DVD – Troy has used ION for years & it works good
– Spend time on a hobby: needlework; beading
– Sketch a flower
– Do a jigsaw puzzle: good wintertime pastime. [Best quality puzzles on the market are Springbok – they are thicker pieces & the puzzles are farmable]; interior decorating in the wintertime
Our group responses are as follows: For those people on fixed incomes: unnecessary expense to purchase a cute workout outfit!
– A sporty jacket or hoodie for cool weather or Clothing appropriate for weather conditions
– Absorbent socks The Army Navy Stores sell heated socks. You will have to purchase the batteries.
– Bras for the women
– The right shoes for your exercise
– Wet weather gear for outdoors [rain gear including rain hat or poncho]
– A water bottle
– A pedometer [all pedometers I have used break] – an excellent motivator if you’ll be walking
– A heart-rate monitor [pedometer & monitor watch
– Exercise DVDs – back-up for bad-weather days if you have the space
– Having a walking buddy to keep you exercising
I would have to say that what makes me happy now, is to go shopping. I used to hate shopping for myself, but now that I lost all the weight, I love to go shopping for new clothes:) I love to play games on computer and spend time with my friends. I love to go to the spa also, so I go more now:)
Do More Of What Makes You Happy.
Make A Happy List as follows:
Our happy list: Religious music; Talking on the phone, Exercising on a stationary bike; dancing at parties; going fishing; Pet Therapy; opposite sex watching, picnics, eating healthier including salads; exercising by walking, lying on the beach making sand castles, meeting new people, planning weekend getaways, planning your dream vacation, watching kids at play.
Take a sensual bubble bath: We prefer to take showers.
Play whatever games your kids are into: We have no children. Games we like: Scrabble, Wheel of Fortune, Checkers, Monopoly, Solitaire, Mavis Beacon for typing, Corn Hole, Chess, Hula Hoop, Hopscotch, play station,…
Dance to 80s tunes: Dance to music that you like from different eras.
Read a detective novel: Margaret Truman Mysteries. The rest of the group very seldom read.
Watch a favorite TV show on DVD: Bonanza, High Chaperelle, Brady Bunch, Little House On The Prairie, Hawaii Five-O w/Jack Lord, Lifetime, Murder She Wrote,
Go for a walk somewhere pretty: Going to a local park: Walk, sit, picnic, etc. Go to the Library and read books or do computer work.
Listen to your iPod in the garden: We listen to music on CD’s.
People-watch in a cafe. People watch on the bus.
See an action film: Westerns are full of action, Kung Fu, etc.
Play a computer game: I play on Big Fish Games; slots.
Go ballroom dancing: Ballroom dancing is a thing of the past. Belong to a dance groups if your a dancer. I’ve noticed on the billboards that the Arthur Murray Dance Studios are back.
Play with a pet: I have a cat and I try to spend some time with her each day.
Daydream – about winning a Grammy, Teenage dreaming of being an actress, rock ‘n roll singer or musician.
discovering a new star – anything!
Plan a project: Apply for part time work as we are stress conscious.
Write a poem: Yes, we do write poems.
Join a choir: We remember belonging to our school choir.
Sit on a park bench and knit. Sit on a park bench to read or relax.
Organize a drawer: Organized your closet and clothes.
Listen to old albums: Listen to albums on CD’s or listen online.
Spend time on a hobby: Hobbies: Drawing or other activities.
Sketch a flower: One person in the group draws flowers.
Do a jigsaw puzzle. One group member likes puzzles in the wintertime. Springbok has the best quality puzzles. Springbok is owned by Hallmark. Springbok puzzles are framable.
Do More Of What Makes You Happy – Starting Now!
This will involve taking some action, such as:
Re-enrolling in ballroom classes: No. We don’t participate in ballroom dancing. You should belong to a dance club to learn dances from the past. We do Indian, Square and Fox Trot dancing.
Buying supplies for your forgotten hobby: If funds allow doing your favorite hobbies:Counted Cross Stitching, Internet surfing, etc.
Digging out your old albums: hang out with friends instead of volunteering, working late. Or you could stay home and work on continuing to organize your home.
Giving yourself permission to fantasize: a better life or sometimes we are envious of other people especially famous people, sometimes you wish you could live life as they do. Sometimes we wish we had the skills to be a singer or actor/actress and be famous. You don’t want to over fantasize and take the role of that person. If you had the opportunity you may not like their life.
Finding a jigsaw puzzle: Jigsaw puzzles are good to do in the wintertime.
Deciding to hang with the kids instead of working late: hang out with friends instead of volunteering, working late. Or you could stay home and work on continuing to organize your home.
Researching which computer game to play: Big Fish Games have the best computer games and I have not had any problems with this site.
Setting the alarm earlier so you can sketch dew-covered blooms. Setting the alarm earlier so you have time to get to where you are going comfortably without being late.
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