Blissipline Your Way to #OnlyJoy in 2020
My favorite New Year’s resolution – and the one I’m most likely to keep – is being present. It’s one of the best ways I’ve found to appreciate the beauty in my life, and to prevent myself from getting caught up in other people’s negativity.
As we begin 2020 – which, election-wise, has the potential to be a negativity firenado – I’m going to raise the bar and resolve to practice more blissipline in the New Year. A delicious combination of “bliss” and “discipline,” blissipline is the act of committing yourself to the practice of bliss. It’s resolving to recognize those little moments of perfect happiness that keep us sane and contented, like:
* 5 p.m. apple on a Friday.
* The first sip of coffee in the morning.
* The smell of bacon cooking for breakfast or on a camping trip (or anywhere, really; it’s bacon).
* Your team scoring the winning point in a close game.
* Fall’s first crisp day.
True, those moments are fleeting, but with the “discipline” part of blissipline, you can extend their impact throughout your day, week, and year. The best way way to practice blissipline is to appreciate what you have now.
Look outside your window at the lush, varied shades of green trees, the cloudless sky, your cute dog playing in the yard.
Look inside, at the comfortable couch where you binge Netflix, with your kids laughing while playing a game at the kitchen table, waiting for the brownies to finish baking in the oven.
Notice and appreciate it all. These are the sights, sounds, and scents of joy.
Everyone has their own list of what brings them joy. For me, it’s watching an evenly matched game of tennis, a round of golf with my husband on a sunny afternoon, or the thrill of landing a giant rainbow trout on a fly fishing trip. It’s all euphoria.
I also love to dive into art, whether it’s what’s on display in my home or in galleries. Art lets me travel in my imagination, living through an artist’s point of view while simultaneously developing my own.
The unconditional love of my dogs keeps me grounded and full of awe.
I’m thankful for all of these things; they bring me happiness. Blissipline helps me be aware of, and grateful for, all these gifts in my life.
Living in The Forward Gap
We have a tendency to think that happiness is when we have, achieve, or find (fill in the blank), whether that’s a dream partner, the job we’ve always wanted, a goal weight, or some other elusive target. This is called living in the “forward gap.” The kink inside this mindset is that happiness is never here now; it’s always just out of reach, even if we achieve the dreamed-of goal. The job, if we get it, turns out to be just OK, the dream partner turns out to be a human being with flaws, and the elusive goal weight still isn’t skinny enough.
Instead of looking forward, try looking to the past. Looking backwards, to where you were at some point in your life and comparing it to where you are now, is a foolproof recipe for gratitude. You’ll be able to see how much you’ve achieved, learned, and grown. This is called the “reverse gap,” and living in it allows you to practice blissipline and experience gratitude every day.
Think back to your college days, when you were probably broke and almost certainly unsure of what the future had in store. Now think about the work you’re able to do because of what you learned there.
Or, maybe a few years ago you were battling cancer or diabetes, and today you’re disease-free due to the right doctors and medicine.
Remember all those boring and/or annoying dates you suffered through trying to find Mr. or Ms. Right? That can give you the proper perspective to mediate the lively debate between your spouse and your headstrong teenager on why pajama bottoms are not appropriate public wear. That’s your family. You created that world for yourself. Feel the joy.
If that’s not enough to persuade you to live in the “reverse gap,” consider that statistics say people have more energy and less depression when they practice gratitude. Anything that increases your love and joy and that you do on a regular basis is blissipline. The more bliss you acknowledge, the more your bliss grows.
So, please, blissipline yourself in 2020 – and beyond.
#OnlyJoy