At the start of each year, I set an intention. The intention is typically summed up in a word. My intention for 2014 was personal happiness. Not just happiness but PERSONAL happiness. It's my favorite feeling of them all!
Everyone's definition and understanding of happiness is different.
I know people who are happy running full-speed ahead without any free time in sight. I know people who are happy only on vacation. And I know people who operate from a permanent place of happiness.
I'm pretty sure I've been all of those before in my lifetime. And this year, my personal mission was to move back into a permanent place of happiness.
After I experienced a professional burnout in 2013 I realized I welcomed a deeper level of happiness -- both personal and professional. I was able to see that in order to move through my professional life happily, I first had to move through my overall life happily. And, I've worked on myself enough to know that in order to bring in personal happiness I first had to understand the feeling of happiness at a deeper level.
When I think of the feeling of happiness, I laugh. I laugh to the point of crying because I can feel it so deeply. I twirl and clap and dance when I think of what happiness feels like.
Throughout 2014, I focused on actions I knew would make me feel happy on a personal level. I trusted that when I moved from a place of personal happiness everything I did professionally would mirror my personal life.
My 2014 personal happiness action item list looks like this:
•More Zumba classes.
•Write again.
•Read more funny books.
•More road trips.
•Cuddle more animals.
•Bike rides at sunset.
•Play in the ocean.
•Communicate more affectionately with loved ones.
•Say yes more often to fun and invite more friends to join in.
•Wear fairy wings.
•Make new friends.
•Slow down.
•Open up my heart.
•Life each day heart-centered.
•Accept my light as a genuine gift and give it freely without attachment.
•Trust in myself and my journey.
Playing in the ocean was really healing for me which helped me open up my heart.
After I opened up my heart, I was able to live each day heart-centered, which gave me the understanding of how to give from my heart.
When I learned how to live a heart-centered life, new friends came in.
New friends gave me more reasons to say yes to life and fun!
The Zumba, bike rides, wings and cuddle sessions with animals were really freeing for me! For the record, I wore the wings while presenting at Phoenix Comicon!
More free moments helped me slow down, which allowed me the time to write again. And writing again gave me the creative outlet to give without attachment.
The best and probably most important action item on my personal happiness list was learning how to fully accept and trust in my journey. When I finally did that, everything clicked into place. I was able to see that this entire year has been one happy moment after another. It's honestly been a year of light -- even when I was experiencing heartache or disappointment I could still accept the light within me and around me.
We all go through our own lessons at the time we're fully able to understand and receive them. And as the calendar year comes to a close I'm so very delighted to say I found my way back to a permanent place of happiness.
While searching for personal happiness, I changed in ways I never experienced before.
As my journey to personal happiness deepened, so did my relationships. All of my relationships now are with happy, heart-centered people. My relationships help me stay happy and heart-centered.
As we move into the holiday season, I'd like to extend a wish to you. My wish for you is that all your relationships be heart-centered ones. Not just this time of year but all year through.