The Happiness Project Experience
I’m a Gretchen Rubin fangirl, and I immediately signed up for her 2019 Happiness Project Experience when she announced it. I’ve started Happiness Projects before but never kept up with them, but I don’t think the problem was self-motivation. I think the attempts just felt…lonely. Like, what’s the fun of self-discovery if you keep it all to yourself? Hopefully having this in an (online) group setting will keep me going.
A couple suggestions from her podcast to get started for the New Year are to pick a one word theme for the year, and to design a 19 for 2019 list.
My word for 2019 is EXPERIMENT. I get bogged down with perfectionism and analysis-paralysis, and have a hard time getting started with new things. I want to practice breaking that habit and just diving in more often.
I’ve been working on my 2019 list for a couple weeks now, and I’m not completely satisfied with it, but in the spirit of EXPERIMENT, here it is!
- Develop new business (Bon Voyage Sewing) (This is a massive one, and I could probably fill a list of 19 things based on it alone! Running my first Instagram challenge is one of my first “Experiments” for 2019!)
- Pattern/Sew 1920s Capsule Wardrobe
- Comfy Clothing Wardrobe for home
- Proper photoshoot for 2018 Costume College gala gown
- Blogging @ V is for Vintage + restore my blog reader (Feedly)
- Make a Vintage Wizard/Historical Hogwarts Costume
- Use the Library!
- Read one book/month – something not available on audio. Starting with academic fashion books
- Fabric Dyeing
- Wigs & hairpieces for historical costuming
- Make some vintage hats
- Build a healthy morning routine
- Make a physical photo album
- Monthly Adventures with Chris
- Have a beach barbecue
- Knit some dishcloths
- Go to Wizarding World at Universal Hollywood
- Plant herb seeds
- Try more (pre-1920s) Old-Timey Dancing
Obviously, a large number of activities are costume-related, so hopefully you’ll be seeing the fruits of those labors here. I made a conscious effort to keep my list positive – I don’t want constant reminders of anything I see as “flaws” in myself, so I’m not picking anything like “Cut back on phone usage” or “eat less sugar” even if those things could be beneficial to me.
The one glaring omission from this list is anything to do with swing dancing. I just don’t know what to do about that one. I wish I had the passion and drive for it the way I did 15 or 20 years ago, but I just don’t. This doesn’t mean I’m quitting dancing, but I guess I’m making it okay to not have as a priority right now? Clearly, I still have a lot of guilt and weird feelings about this, mostly because I miss seeing my friends from that scene and it was a fun hobby that my husband and I did together. I do worry about becoming too isolated and this list does an okay, but not great, job of combating that. But honestly y’all, people are EXHAUSTING. I can only take so much of all of you. 😉
Leave me a comment if you’re also a fan of Gretchen Rubin’s work! I would like to connect with more people who have similar interests and enjoy her message.