One Hundred Happy Days!

So 2014 arrived, I had good intentions of giving up procrastination, starting running and eating healthier but then the new year arrived and here I am procrastinating, still haven’t even purchased any running trainers and *obviously* I couldn’t not eat all those Christmas chocolates that are still hanging around.

On New Years eve, I reflected a lot on what it was that I wanted to change to make my life better, I like to say that I am usually a happy person and genuinely appreciate my life and all the opportunities that it has presented with me so far including the current opportunity I am living in of being able to study and live in a new country. The thing I kept coming back to time and again was to stop worrying and try to live in the present. I love planning and found such a fear when thinking about my inevitable graduation in 2014 and the void of the unknown that would follow this.

Today I came across something that I think my help me to some extent fulfil this New Year goal – something that might help me to appreciate the experiences that are presented to me in the now, the things that should bring me complete joy in the present. This idea is called ‘100 Happy Days’, a simple encouragement to notice the things that make you happy every day. These can be small things, a kind stranger, a tidy bedroom, a phone call with an old friend. So this is going to be my challenge for 2014 to notice each day a reason to be happy and hopefully bring some other people some happiness in return.

So although today is the 7^th  of January, I had a reflect on all the things that have made me happy this year and I realized that even in the past week there’s been so many. So here are my first five happy days – and hopefully the start of many more to follow:

1. I’m so happy to have been able to spend a lovely Christmas period back in London and I’ve definitely been so especially grateful because it’s been even more special seeing everyone after being away for a few months.
2. I’m so happy that even though I’ve got so much studying and revising to do, I’ve had my sister to keep me motivated, and my slightly crazy cat for a petting break.
3. I’m happy to be missing Leiden and that I have another semester of living and learning in an international environment.
4. I’m happy for never-ending Christmas chocolates that help the drone of endless studying be kept in check.
5. Today I am especially happy for the value of friendship and the closeness that never has to leave no matter how long the gap between seeing one another
6. At the moment, I’m really happy for unlimited cups of English tea that comes from being at home
7. In a really insignificant way I was so super happy to get on a brand new train yesterday (it even smelled like new handbag!)

Hopefully this is the start of many more happy days to come, and many more ways to appreciate the New Year and my time in Leiden. Happy New Year everyone, I hope that 2014 brings you all unlimited happiness J

If anyone is interested in the project, more can be found out about it here:

http://100happydays.com/#what