There's been this challenge floating around social media called the 100 happy days challenge, a miniature phenomenon. I've never been good at following through on such things. I love the idea of training to run a marathon and lent, things that require commitment and determination. People who do those things are admirable to me... and alien. My days are too changeful. The only things I do everyday are the necessary ones that would make me a disgusting human being if I didn't - brushing my teeth, untangling hair that's natural state is to be tangled, maybe washing my dishes, and remembering to pay my bills on time. Everything else? ... meh. I write sporadically, I practice my violin when I feel like it, I eat whatever I want at random times and have irregular sleep patterns. Basically, my life lacks the kind of structure it would seem necessary to have in order to pull off something like a 100 day long challenge in how successfully I can annoy people that are barely acquaintances.
I noticed this challenge a few months ago. Folks post something everyday that made them happy during that day. It seemed redundant to me. I already saw Facebook and other social media outlets as highlight reels of peoples' lives, for the most part. Why lay it on any thicker?
There's already loads of research that's been done into the negative side effects of social media and how it contributes to depression, anxiety, addictive behavior patterns, and shortened attention span. If used unconsciously, it becomes a tool for comparison. We fall victim to comparing the unhappy aspects of our lives with the often over-shared aspects of others' happy lives. And so I've tried to be a more conscious user.
I took on the challenge 15 days ago after an unexpected breakup opened my eyes to several issues that I'd been avoiding. The relationship itself, had become more important than my happiness. I loved the relationship more than myself, which caused me to objectify my partner and ignore my needs. I lost myself and let the things that normally made me happy wither in the shadow of this perceived romance which I was using to medicate another much more significant loss. I tend to forget that the world and its beauty and its love are also mine for the taking after I've lost someone. I see beauty and think of the person I can no longer share it with. I think of my plans and feel shaken knowing that they will no longer be a part of them. I think that much is natural. But ignoring my needs was a sign of something wrong.
So I'm doing it. Not so much to be a happier person, but to get back in touch with myself. To live more graciously. To focus. To follow through on something good.
I noticed this challenge a few months ago. Folks post something everyday that made them happy during that day. It seemed redundant to me. I already saw Facebook and other social media outlets as highlight reels of peoples' lives, for the most part. Why lay it on any thicker?
There's already loads of research that's been done into the negative side effects of social media and how it contributes to depression, anxiety, addictive behavior patterns, and shortened attention span. If used unconsciously, it becomes a tool for comparison. We fall victim to comparing the unhappy aspects of our lives with the often over-shared aspects of others' happy lives. And so I've tried to be a more conscious user.
I took on the challenge 15 days ago after an unexpected breakup opened my eyes to several issues that I'd been avoiding. The relationship itself, had become more important than my happiness. I loved the relationship more than myself, which caused me to objectify my partner and ignore my needs. I lost myself and let the things that normally made me happy wither in the shadow of this perceived romance which I was using to medicate another much more significant loss. I tend to forget that the world and its beauty and its love are also mine for the taking after I've lost someone. I see beauty and think of the person I can no longer share it with. I think of my plans and feel shaken knowing that they will no longer be a part of them. I think that much is natural. But ignoring my needs was a sign of something wrong.
So I'm doing it. Not so much to be a happier person, but to get back in touch with myself. To live more graciously. To focus. To follow through on something good.
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