~A Bitter Swallow~

 I sat down with pen and paper, and wrote down everything that I could think of that would make me a happier person.  Some of those aren't activities that I particularly enjoy doing, but I think that accomplishing them would have the desired end result.  Not all happiness is fun....


I may be taking this much farther than is sane, but it's giving me something to do during the shelter-in-place, and it's helping me really delve inside and look at myself. As I did some research, I discovered different categories of happiness.  I felt that it would be helpful to break these actions down by category, to give myself a better feel for my desires, and maybe see if there were areas that were more prominent than others.   In no specific order, the seven categories I came up with are:

1.  Nature
2. Social
3. Financial/Vocational
4. Physical
5. Intellectual
6. Spiritual
7. Self



I took all the things I had written down and divided them into the categories.  Many of them fit into more than one. Some of the items listed seemed to be a little repetitive, but I left them, since there is a degree of difference in them.   I discovered that all of these categories were pretty even as far as how many items were in them.  No one category particularly stood out from the others.  Seeing how some of the items overlapped was interesting.  Here is how they broke down:


1. Nature Happiness

• Go outside every day
• Gather experiences
• Touch Nature every day
• Garden
• Follow my interests (wild-crafting, foraging, gardening, herbalism, etc..)
• Learn plants-  identifying, cultivating, harvesting, uses, etc.... 

2.  Social Happiness

• Listen more
• Write physical letters/cards, etc
• Laugh more
• Practice gratitude
• Connect with people 
• Embrace my solitude
• Look into volunteering options

3.  Financial / Vocational Happiness

• Be recognized for my work
• Pay off my debt
• Get my own place
• Buy my own place
• Learn Office (?)
• Be self-sufficient
• Look into schooling 

4.  Physical Happiness

• Lose weight
• Eat healthier
• Drink more water
• Be active 
• Go places
• Garden
• Be outside
• Sing & Dance

5.  Intellectual Happiness

• Always learn/ be curious
• Follow my interests
• Be creative
• Unplug 
• Read 
• Journal

6.  Spiritual Happiness

• Embrace my inner child
• Learn more about spiritual stuff
• Be in Nature
• Unplug
• Be in the moment
• Journal

7.  Self Happiness

• Have better self-image/worth
• Stay positive while embracing the shadow
• Embrace inner child
• Find my passion
• Practice gratitude
• Laugh more
• Be self-sufficient

I'm sure there will be more to add later.  However, this is my starting point.  My goal now is to break each category down even further by analyzing each item and brainstorming ways to incorporate or work toward each item.  The items that cross categories I will pay attention to, since those are the actions that will have results in multiple areas.  Then I will be able to prioritize and come up with an action plan.