The Happiness Project, version E

Today I found a link to the Happiness Project Toolbox waiting for me in my Google Reader. I've read Happiness Project before, and liked what I saw (although I admittedly never saw fit to add it to my RSS), so I clicked on over to investigate. I liked what I saw there too, with one exception: I don't want to have to go to yet another website to make yet another list that I will never remember to look at or update.

So I'm going to run my own Happiness Project right here.

First, I'm going to ask myself a few questions I found on that website, and eventually I'll work deeper into my psyche, and hopefully, closer to my own personal happiness.


1. What makes you feel good? What activities do you find fun, satisfying, or energizing?
Playing with Mallory, talking to Steve, hanging out with my mom, reading, writing (though sometimes it feels more like a chore), yoga, swimming, running, cooking, having a clean/organized house (though not cleaning)

2. What makes you feel bad? What are sources of anger, irritation, boredom, frustration, or anxiety in your life?
Finances (not having money to buy/do the things I want), my poor budgeting skills, not having a clean house, my weight, things going unfinished, driving all the time, the dogs

3. Is there any way in which you don't feel right about your life? Do you wish you could change jobs, cities, family situation, or other circumstances? Are you living up to your expectations for yourself? Does your life reflect your values?
I wish I didn't have to work. I want to be at home with my baby, doing something artistic or crafty (writing, decorating, taking pictures, cooking). I love my husband, but I wish he would help out more around the house (and I conversely wish I would stop nagging him so much). I wish I lived closer to my parents. My expectations? The expectations I had when I was younger, certainly not. I think I've come to expect that I can't succeed. My values? I value my family, and my mind--both of which would be more fulfilled if I quit my job and stayed at home.


4. Do you have sources of an atmosphere of growth? In what areas of your life do you find progress, learning, challenge, improvement, and increased mastery?
I don't feel like I'm growing right now. This job is not a challenge, and it presents me with nothing but frustration. Even as a mother I feel stagnant.

Everything in my life is telling me to quit my job. So why can't I just do it?