5 lessons learned in 100 days

I ended my 100 happy days challenge more than 1 month ago. First, I wanted to point how amazing it was the next day. But I thought that for a more objective point of view I should wait until the enthusiasm settles. Here I am now with some take out points and advises if you want to do something similar.

For the ones not knowing much about this please check my post from last year: https://steemit.com/story/@alinamarin/a-great-project-to-start-2017-100happydays-challenge.

1. Happiness is not a constant

I already knew that rationally but observing my behavior and thoughts day after day I realized that I am not happy all the time and it's absolutely normal not to be. But I also learned that bad moments won't define me if I won't let them and if I take the lessons and find the switch point in my attitude.
I accept now more easily the "not so happy moments" and I use them as fuel for becoming a better me.

2. The brain is magical

It's so much easier now to look around and see beauty, to look at every person and understand that behind his behavior is a story I don't know and that it depends only on myself to discover it. I said it's easier but this does not means that I'm not terribly annoyed when I have customers not doing their part of the jobs or people not keeping their promises but asking me to keep mine. But that moment of anger is much shorter and with less judging. And this is important as the person affected the most by this bad states is myself. The most important expectation from this process was accomplished and I really feel my brain reshaped.

3. How to improve all relationships

Starting with the most important one, the relationship with myself, I've become more aware about my limits, my needs, my patterns and how they impact myself and the others. I was able this way to ask for what I need and to ask the others what do they need from my side. I became more capable of saying no when I feel is a no and more genuine involved when I said yes.
Being so honest helped also people around me to be honest and to communicate for real.

4. The best vulnerability lesson

Writing here about some very intimate thoughts and experiences was the biggest lesson I took on how much courage you need to be vulnerable. And I was indeed lucky as there were no people taking this as an opportunity to harm me. I want to thank you all for this and for helping me feel safe to share in such an open space.

5. Discipline is a super power

This is a thought on the process. I wasn't sure I will be able to keep my commitment and do this for so may days in the row. What I decided was to take it step by step, day by day. I've tried to create a habit in writing my happy thought before going to bed. Most of the times it worked. There were cases when I forgot, I was tired or I did not felt willing to do this. And I learned to accept it and to use this as a learning experience.
Because, what I think makes discipline great is being able to return to it after short moments of rebellion and acknowledge it's benefits in the same time with the need to forget about it from time to time.
I saw too often people giving up on a repetitive, useful experience (learning process, diet and life style change, etc), after one wrong step. I've done this myself couple of time in the past, feeling guilty that I was not able to discipline myself enough. That is the truly revealing moment in the process, when you understand that failing once will not mean that you have to choose failure from that day ahead and that even if we sometimes loose battles, is in our power only to win the war.

This was one of the most full of scope journey's I took so far and I plan to repeat each year. I can only hope some of you will give it a try.