Hi all - I still have a recap of Morocco coming up for you, but as today is the first day of a new month, it's time for another check-in on The Happiness Project!
When I look back at what I wrote for May, I feel like I kind of fluffed that one? "Not necessarily focusing on creating time for leisure, but rather, I should think of having a more relaxed approach about things that stress me out" isn't a very concrete thing to measure. Was I stressed out during May? Absolutely. Did I do any better at trying to be relaxed about it? I have no clue. But to be honest, I bet I didn't. May was so packed that I don't really think I had the mental bandwidth to be mindful about anything haha.
Oh well - onto June! (Seriously, where does the time go?!) The focus for the month of June is friendship. The book lays out some specific and intentional actions that the author focused on during the month, but I think my situation is a bit different. Living abroad is a big lesson in friendship in so many ways. I've had to actively and openly seek new friendship, I've had to grow developing friendships, and I've had to work hard to maintain and sustain old friendship. I've obviously had varying degrees of success in all these areas, but it's been one of the most prominent pieces of my time in Singapore.
I've long felt that I have a really great group of friends. So I just want to spend the month savoring and honoring my friendships. Here are the things I want to do:
Meaningful communication with three friends at home - This blog is really useful in letting other people know what's going on in my life, but sometimes I feel like I don't really know what's going on in your life! Time zone challenges and busy schedules obviously limit the amount of real communication I can have with a lot of my friends in the US. But I want to make it a priority this month! Whether its a long email, a Skype chat, or Facetime, I want to connect.
Dinner with a (different!) friend at least once a week - I am a total creature of habit. And in Singapore, that habit is typically eating dinner with the same friend. A great friend (!!), but the same friend. But it's not like I just have one friend here! So I need to start sharing meals with those people too!!
Be present - A lot of times, I am exhausted. Between work and life, I just get tired. So I often just want to stay at home and relax. But the thing is, especially as I am winding down my time here in Singapore with a lovely group of people, I should be hanging out with my friends! When I first moved here, I said yes to absolutely every invitation. I've definitely scaled back on that and starting really just doing what I've felt like doing, but I think that I need to ramp back up and start going to things and doing things just because someone invites me along. I'll rest later haha. I want to show up this month.
Happy June everyone!
When I look back at what I wrote for May, I feel like I kind of fluffed that one? "Not necessarily focusing on creating time for leisure, but rather, I should think of having a more relaxed approach about things that stress me out" isn't a very concrete thing to measure. Was I stressed out during May? Absolutely. Did I do any better at trying to be relaxed about it? I have no clue. But to be honest, I bet I didn't. May was so packed that I don't really think I had the mental bandwidth to be mindful about anything haha.
Oh well - onto June! (Seriously, where does the time go?!) The focus for the month of June is friendship. The book lays out some specific and intentional actions that the author focused on during the month, but I think my situation is a bit different. Living abroad is a big lesson in friendship in so many ways. I've had to actively and openly seek new friendship, I've had to grow developing friendships, and I've had to work hard to maintain and sustain old friendship. I've obviously had varying degrees of success in all these areas, but it's been one of the most prominent pieces of my time in Singapore.
I've long felt that I have a really great group of friends. So I just want to spend the month savoring and honoring my friendships. Here are the things I want to do:
Meaningful communication with three friends at home - This blog is really useful in letting other people know what's going on in my life, but sometimes I feel like I don't really know what's going on in your life! Time zone challenges and busy schedules obviously limit the amount of real communication I can have with a lot of my friends in the US. But I want to make it a priority this month! Whether its a long email, a Skype chat, or Facetime, I want to connect.
Dinner with a (different!) friend at least once a week - I am a total creature of habit. And in Singapore, that habit is typically eating dinner with the same friend. A great friend (!!), but the same friend. But it's not like I just have one friend here! So I need to start sharing meals with those people too!!
Be present - A lot of times, I am exhausted. Between work and life, I just get tired. So I often just want to stay at home and relax. But the thing is, especially as I am winding down my time here in Singapore with a lovely group of people, I should be hanging out with my friends! When I first moved here, I said yes to absolutely every invitation. I've definitely scaled back on that and starting really just doing what I've felt like doing, but I think that I need to ramp back up and start going to things and doing things just because someone invites me along. I'll rest later haha. I want to show up this month.
Happy June everyone!
Nice post Mary. I'm tired just reading your happenings in May. :)
ReplyDeleteGirl me too...
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