I thought long and hard about what to do for my Independent Learning Project. I tossed around many things such as photography, poetry, or cooking. After watching the TED talk by Logan Laplante, there was a quote that stuck with me: “When I grow up, I want to be happy.” I found myself reflecting on my life and whether or not I felt that I was happy. I have a good home life, good education, and am surrounded by great people. But am I truly happy? The more I reflected, the more I realized what a pessimistic attitude I have about so many occurrences in my life. I often find myself focusing on the few negative aspects of my life instead of concentrating on all the wonderful parts of my life. We each get one shot at life. There are no re-dos or rewind buttons that we can rely on when we have regrets. I don’t want to regret the way I live my life. My constant state of negativity is something that is in the way of my true happiness. Because of this realization, I have decided to do my Independent Learning Project on Personal Growth. Throughout the next few weeks, I will work on improving myself and my attitude about life.
This week, I spent my learning time doing a lot of self-reflection. I thought about the aspects of myself that I liked and the ones that could use some work. In addition, I did a lot of research online looking into how to change your outlook and attitude. My pessimistic attitude is often an automatic reaction because it is a habit. My research led me to six main things that are needed in order to improve happiness.
- Choose your attitude-don’t let your emotions impact your reactions
- Don’t be lazy- exercise releases endorphins that fuel happiness
- Be grateful- wake up each morning and mentally list the things that you are grateful for
- Perfection will never be attained- be happy with progress, but always work to be better, not perfect
- Drink more water- Drinking water leads to feeling better which leads to better attitudes
These are all things that I will be working on each week in the hopes that between physical health and my own determination, I will be able to alter my attitude and grow personally so that I can become a happier person. This week I constantly caught myself being negative or having a bad attitude. When I noticed these things, I would try to think about the upside of situations or remember how little this inconvenience was in comparison to the big picture. I have also told my parents about the project so that they can help me keep in check. I truly hope that by the end of this project, having a positive attitude comes naturally to me.
courtneymunger 
First off, I love this learning project. I can relate to you due to the fact that I have a good life but am not necessarily at peace with some of my past experiences. Two of my main hang ups are lost love and missed opportunities. While those six key steps to being happy are easy to write down and keep in mind, it will take some effort to actively apply them to your life. However, I think that with those elements in your life, you will see growth in your character. While some situations are not so ideal, I look forward to watching you find the silver lining in each gray cloud. I admire your efforts to live a more pure and positive life. This sort of lifestyle will inspire your future students as well. Best of luck pursuing being happy!
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Thank you! I have already found this week that this is much easier said than done! I was traveling this week and found that I was more stressed than usual. Because of this, it got difficult at times to stay positive! I also had trouble working out due to lack of time and equipment!
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I love this idea for a project, Courtney!! I tend to be pretty pessimistic about things when they don’t seem to be going the way that I had envisioned them to be. My TED Talk his week really turned my attitude right around (it’s really good- go check it out: (https://www.ted.com/talks/david_steindl_rast_want_to_be_happy_be_grateful?language=en). I can’t wait to read more about your project and how your weeks go!
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Regan, thank you for the read and video! I watched the video and found it to be extremely uplifting! Thanks!
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I am really excited for you to journey through this project. I agree with you that we cannot “rewind” the past, but would challenge you to consider the fact that you can “re-do” something. Not everything, but some times it never hurts to try a “re-do”. Especially if you have others support, encouragement and maybe even forgiveness if needed. The confidence to “re-do” or “fix” the failure or wrong that was done. For me personally I feel that “re-dos” have had the biggest impact on my life because they challenged me to revisit my past experiences and look for ways to change the feelings I had during those times happy,sad, discouraged, challenged, unmotivated, successes, and failures. The “re-do” will not be the exact same experience repeated of course but I do feel that you have opportunities to change something by revisiting it. In my life I feel that I have given others a chance to “re-do” something. Sometimes its a little thing and other times it is difficult, but I am open to the fact that sometimes I need to “re-do or “try again” or others need grace extended to them for the same reasons. Just a thought:).
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Charity, thank you for the read and the advice! I will definitely take that into consideration and think closely on things in my life that I may have the chance to re-do!
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I really love this idea! I am normally a very happy person but I have also noticed that when I get around certain people I become more pessimistic. I think that you will truly be happy that you chose this as your topic for your learning project. One piece of advice that you might try in your journey to becoming more optimistic is to realize the beauty around you. I live at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains and I often lose sight of just how pretty the Earth actually is. It is a very peaceful feeling to realize the beauty that naturally surrounds us. Good luck!!
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Thanks for the tip! I live at the edge of the Black Hills and I constantly find myself surprised when tourists are baffled by the beauty until I look around and realize that it is beautiful!
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