The other day, I found myself discussing Gretchen Rubin's book with two of my friends at school. I even brought in the copy I had from the library for them to peruse. Both of my friends were extremely interested, to the point that one of them went out and bought two copies - one for herself and one for me. What a nice gesture. Now we are both reading it and setting goals for ourselves. It's wonderful because not only are we inspired by Gretchen's journey but by our own personal findings. My other friend reported to me today that she is setting one specific goal each month, then adding another goal after the first has become a habit. She is also focussing on getting to bed earlier. With the three of us working on this project, it's great to be able to discuss our successes and failures. It inspires us to stick to our plan, knowing that we have support along the way.
My second goal, to exercise more frequently, is also one that my friend is tackling. I recently gave up my gym membership because I found I couldn't get to the club enough for it to be worthwhile. Instead, my husband and I bought an elliptical and set it up in the basement. One of the benefits of belonging to a club, is that another friend and I used to go together. Now that I'm not going, who will inspire me to show up? I do have self-discipline but everyone needs a boost once in a while. So, my friend and I decided to exercise together while in our own homes. (She has a treadmill in her basement.) We chose 3 nights during the week and made a pact to call each other just before starting. Sometimes, we talk on the phone while we exercise, other times, we watch a show and call each other afterwards to discuss it. Neither of us has to leave the house, but we still complete our exercise.
Just as The Happiness Project has inspired me, so I have helped my friends through reading and discussing Gretchen Rubin's wonderful experiment. I know it will make a difference in our lives and we have already begun to see the benefits.
No comments:
Post a Comment