This isn’t my idea — I saw it on Pinterest. In 2015, I tried to write down something that happened that made me happy every day, along with the date, and put it in a jar. On New Year’s Eve, Mr. Donovan and I read through them all.
I didn’t actually do it every day. I wrote down maybe 50 things, total. Reading through them was still amazing.
Here are two things I didn’t expect:
1. Getting reminded of things I enjoy and could do again.
For instance, one day I had written down, “Doing the exercise bike in the morning while watching Friends.” I remember that when I wrote this down in February 2015, I thought it was about the weakest and most boring thing in the world.
When I read it on the last day of December in 2015, I said, “Oh my gosh, there were a few weeks when I did that in the morning before work, and it would put me in the best mood!” (Guess who’s been doing it again?)
2. Experiencing time travel.
This was surreal. For one day, I had written down something about having dinner with Mr. Donovan at a particular restaurant and telling him about a particular book I loved. No big deal, right? The kind of thing you would never recall afterward, unless you wrote it down.
When I read that little slip of paper at the end of the year, I was suddenly transported to that exact time. I remembered what I ordered, and how the sunshine came into the windows of the restaurant. I remembered everything. It was amazing!
Mr. Donovan insisted on keeping all the little notes. Trying out the happiness jar in 2015 convinced me to be more faithful about it in 2016. I think I’ll probably read over the first half of them on the summer solstice, because it’s too fun to do only once a year.
Here are two things I learned about how to do it better!
1. Don’t write down something because you think you should like it.
Your future self will see right through your bullshit. If literally the thing that made you happiest that day was listening to a ridiculous pop song in the car, write down that, not the yoga class you went to but didn’t really enjoy.
2. Don’t write down plans for things.
Plans can change. For instance, I was very excited about a tattoo consultation, but later, after more thought and discussion, I decided not to get a tattoo after all. So reading that one at the end of the year was kind of a womp womp moment, even though I wasn’t sorry.
Of course, you can’t avoid some things that in retrospect, will seem bittersweet, and that’s okay!
~
If you’re interested, it’s definitely not too late to start a jar for 2016. By the end of the year, you’ll still have a wealth of great stuff to look back on! It’s actually never too late — you can start and read at any time.
I’m wishing you lots of jar-worthy moments, whether you have a jar or not. Thanks for reading!
I am starting now, I’ve seen this and forgotten completely until now. I will look forward to opening the box in 2017. ?
🙂 That’s awesome Ellen — I hope you love it!
This is such a wonderful idea! I’m going to start mine ASAP 🙂
Oooh Cass, I bet you will love it!
This does sound fun. Pinterest always amazes me with the variety of ideas and information they offer.
Lately I’ve sort of fallen in love with Pinterest all over again. It’s like 2011 all over again… 😀 Seriously, you can find so many great things.
Totally agree 😉 I find a lot of the info-graphics relating to pets that I use on my blogs there and much of the humor, too. That said, I originally got hooked on Pinterest because of photos that inspired stories.
Love this!!!!
I was surprised at how great it really was to read them!
I just heard about these jars this year. I do have a jar that a friend made for me that’s personalized with my name and a devil’s trap from Supernatural. That would be the perfect candidate to hold these. That’s it, I’m doing it.
Rebekah that jar sounds amazing. 😀 Yay, I hope you dig it!
I love how you explore things, try things, learn stuff and share it all with us. It’s enriching, inviting, real and encouraging. Thanks.
Aww thanks friend!! <3 You are too kind. As always!
I’ve done this for birthday’s. usually the 40th–for some reason people dread that one. I’d fill up boxes, jars, whatever, with 40 encouraging thoughts for them to open whenever they wanted. I’ve also done other things for a 40th birthday that were more hilarious and not entirely uplifting! A friend gave me something similar. Cept she added slips of paper on why she liked having me as a friend. Pretty fun simple idea!
Oh my gosh Kris — that is the nicest idea! I love it! I have got to try that…
Thanks for the reminder. I started one in 2014 and I kept forgetting and in 2015, I gave up.
😀 😀 😀
It’s hard to remember! I think I’m getting into the habit, though 😀
Try, try again… 😀 Thanks for the reminder.
I had a friend make me a “reasons why I love you” jar. She spent a month thinking of things, wrote them all down on notes, and gave it to me as a surprise. Whenever I’m feeling down, I read a note, and it’s the best thing ever.
Ohhhh. That is wonderful. What a great gift. <3
This is a wonderful idea!
I wish I could give credit, but I’m not sure who came up with it first! Thanks for reading!
I have done this on 2015, and now, reading the few things I wrote, I see I write a lot on January and February but not so much on the rest of the year. I am going to do it this year, also.
My diaries always look like that… which is why I don’t keep diaries any more! But I hope to keep up with this. 🙂
My sister took care of my aging mother. She asked me to tell Mom a bedtime story (a happy Mom-memory) because it helped Mom focus on happy things instead of bad memories before bed. I told her the story. When I got home I continued to think of happy Mom-memories so I wrote them down and sent her a whole booklet. I called it Bedtime Stories for My Mama. Now that Mama is gone, the memories are even sweeter.