{"id":3778,"date":"2020-03-08T18:30:53","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T02:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lameredith.com\/?p=3778"},"modified":"2020-03-08T18:30:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T02:30:53","slug":"the-habit-of-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lameredith.com\/2020\/03\/the-habit-of-happiness\/","title":{"rendered":"The Habit of Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I\u2019d been meaning<\/strong> to round off my first chapter in Thriving, Decoded<\/em> by not simply talking about Adverse Childhood Experiences and the things that may have shaped the lens we see the world through, but to take a look at how wonderful things that happened to us in our, the people in our early lives who nurtured and cared, who bore witness to our struggles and added positivity to help us survive.<\/p>\n

But I couldn\u2019t figure out how exactly. While creating a course and book simultaneously that is meant to help others, my own life has felt overwhelming and deserving of jaw-clenching these days.<\/p>\n

Between wrapping up a non-traditional career in which the gender divide seems to have grown as I\u2019ve supervised probation for the past decade plus, in\u00a0 which the constant change of state government, the opioid addiction crisis, the stark lack of funding for good mental health services in the community have raised the intensity of what has always been serious yet important work. The volume of conflict required to fight the good fight has become a lot, lot, lot. And it doesn\u2019t bring out my best qualities. Nor does the cumulative darkness, cold, and piles of gorgeous winter snow.<\/p>\n

Saturday, I listened to an interview with author Nancy Davis Kho, who talked about her process of writing fifty letters to people who had helped her at different segments of her life as her fiftieth birthday approached. She spoke about the transformational process that began, ultimately leading to a book called The Thank You Project, Cultivating Happiness, One Letter of Gratitude at a Time.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

My mind immediately began thinking about this exercise. As I went out to shovel the snow off my roof and balcony, I found my neighbor already getting his snow blower ready to clear my driveway. He told me his daughter died last week, and his pipes froze solid just afterward, leading to much damage in his home.<\/p>\n

Before I could say anything, he yelled out to another neighbor whose life has recently fallen apart, saying, \u201cDon\u2019t worry. I got you next.\u201d<\/p>\n

I headed out an hour later to run some errands but got a call from someone I dated for several years, whom I haven\u2019t enjoyed a real conversation with in the ten years following our ending.<\/p>\n

It was so unexpected. My mind immediately went to the times when he patiently listened as I dealt with one daughter\u2019s then-serious health problems that have thankfully resolved, and the other\u2019s foray into a deep mental health crisis that never fully will. How fortunate I was to have had him then.\u00a0 How beautiful it was to end with positive regard, knowing that his perfect partner that he would (and did) eventually meet was out there, but we\u2019d both grown and changed during our time together.<\/p>\n

We had tea after the call. It was my chance to try out the thank you project. It was wonderful and cathartic and bittersweet.<\/p>\n

As I go through this challenging time of transition, leaving a career, creating another, and stepping out of my comfort zone, this is a discipline I intend to carry forward. I have many yet to thank. Neighbors, coworkers, teachers, friends, strangers, and family.<\/p>\n

I encourage you to consider it also. Think about a time in the past when someone, a teacher, a neighbor, or a family member who didn\u2019t need to, reached out to make a difference. Then, consider letting them know, or journaling about it if they\u2019re unable to be contacted.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

One of our heroes from the Greek crisis.<\/p><\/div>\n

Science confirms that positive childhood experiences<\/a> can counterbalance the adverse ones, leading to lessened depression or poor mental health outcomes for their recipient.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s amazing when you think about who has helped you in life\u2019s journey. It\u2019s equally engaging to think about how you can be that agent of support for someone who would never expect it.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t wait to hear about what you come up with.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  I\u2019d been meaning to round off my first chapter in Thriving, Decoded by not simply talking about Adverse Childhood Experiences and the things that may have shaped the lens we see the world through, but to take a look at how wonderful things that happened to us in our, the people in our early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[497],"tags":[600,597,599,598],"yoast_head":"\nThe Habit of Happiness - Lizbeth Meredith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lameredith.com\/2020\/03\/the-habit-of-happiness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Habit of Happiness - 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