What Do You Do When There's No More New?

Over the summer I had a bit of a mini crisis of sorts. Or perhaps it was the lack thereof that became the problem.

So much of my time spent in the latter half of my twenties had been spent seeking something.

I always think of the Carrie Bradshaw quote  “In New York, you can have a great job, a great apartment and a great companion, but not all three”

Outside of being a stylish Manhattanite, that seems to have been a perfect descriptor of my life. Sometimes struggling with zero out of these three, on lucky occasions (and most recently) having two out of three.

But then this spring, something crazy happened: the magic THREE. All the pieces fell into place and I found myself with a great and very handsome man, charming (albeit small) home, and a job in an industry I’ve wanted to work in since college. Woo hoo! Mission accomplished! So this is where the “Happier Ever After” begins, right?

Except what do I do now? I found myself still in the humdrum of daily life, still needing to run errands, clean the house, walk the dog and commute to work. Le sigh. 

Something I took for granted when it came to trying to fill the two out of three void, is that it provided an aspiration. By dreaming and hoping for finding that last piece, it actually provided its own happiness and fulfillment in my life.

I know that new wonderful things will come into my life in the future. Hopefully a bigger house, children, career growth, (I plan on keeping the man though, thank you very much). But for now, I was stuck feeling less blissful in the bliss I had worked so hard to find.

As is my tendency, I turned to books for therapy and guidance. I read through a few time management, goal setting, career growing, self bettering books and then I came across The Happiness Project. This was exactly what I needed. The author had the same crisis of conscience that was looming over my own head. In a blessed and loved filled life, why was she not walking in a cloud of glitter and ponies every waking moment?

She set off on a year long process to find happiness in the little things, happiness in the big things, and happiness in the things she didn’t even know she was missing out on. 

She gives insight and ideas for creating one’s own “Happiness Project” and I think I just might take her up on the offer. It’s the mother of all New Year’s Resolutions. But since I actually kept mine last year ("don’t shop full prices", "reconnect and be in more frequent contact with distant friends and family", and  "daily photos"... erm, ok 2 out of 3 isn't bad... see above) I’m feeling pretty confident in my resolution keeping abilities.

I can say that even as I have been wrapping my mind around what this project, I’ve been allowing myself to get a head start on some things and I already appreciate it’s affect on my life. They haven’t been HUGE, just little items like crossing those pesky “to do” items off my list: Find a dentist, visit the dentist, visit the doctor, set up auto bill pay, clean a little bit every night. Though none of these directly contribute to my happiness per se, the lack of them looming over my head has definitely lightened my load. I’d even say, it’s put a skip in my step knowing they are complete.

I hope to share more about this journey as it unfolds. Each month will have a different focus, building off the last. By the end of 2014, I expect to be the happiest person on the planet. I’d even settle for a close second.