I’ve been thinking a lot about happiness lately.
Throughout our Raising Happiness book club and beyond, I thought about what makes me happy and when I’m happiest. And of course visions of chubby baby cheeks and Botticellian toddler curls danced in my head. As did cuddling with Husband. Sleeping late. Reading novels. Eating Extreme Moose Tracks ice cream. (They don’t call it “Extreme” for nothing, people!)
And all of those things make me happy. They really do. But I thought too about why I don’t always feel as happy as I’d like to.
For a long time I inaccurately conflated happiness with busyness. Especially in the months after Big Boy was born and I found myself at home, without the interaction of my colleagues and students, I spent hours keeping myself busy and inventing ways to fill my days with activity. I organized and reorganized our closets. I took Big Boy to Walmart for no reason. I subscribed to an online service that bombarded me with e-mails reminding me to swish my toilets and swipe my sink.
And some of this busyness, this task-oriented behavior, actually did make me feel happy. But the problem was that I equated something like wandering the aisles of Big Box purgatory with baking a pear tart. Both kept me busy, but only one involved setting and attaining a goal. And the act of achieving something – even a less-than-picture-perfect dessert - does lead to happiness for me.
And this phenomenon, apparently, is a common one observed by researchers in the field of positive psychology. According to a recent article in Good Housekeeping, “contentment and a sense of meaning in life don’t arise from the usual suspects – winning the lottery, or being young and beautiful – but from, among other things, the pursuit and attainment of goals.”
This was an important revelation for me at this moment in my life as a stay-at-home mom to a baby and a toddler: the idea that setting and achieving goals makes me happy. Not busyness for the sake of busyness. Busyness with a purpose. Busyness with actual engagement, and ideally with connection.
Blogging – and the community that I have found here – has been the clearest example of how I’ve found my happiness. The setting of a simple goal of writing a post and then achieving it by hitting “publish” gives me great satisfaction at a time when I am not always able to prioritize my own needs and my own interests. And doing this on my terms makes me happy.
I will never grow tired of looking at those cheeks and those curls. I will always like to snuggle up with a good book or my good man. But I also really appreciate the idea of being able to shape my own happiness through my intentions and my commitment to carrying them out.
And I thank you for being here, for reading, and for helping me build a community that helps me set and meet my goals.
Does pursuing and attaining goals make you happy? Which goal have you been happiest to achieve?
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{ 85 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with so much of what you say. That it is meaning and purpose, not sheer motion, that makes us happy creatures. I believe, and deeply, that it is fashioning goals, in dreaming big dreams, in moving forward along the paths we ourselves plow, that makes the smiles come.
I am less than a week out from publishing my first novel (yikes) and I am excited and proud and in a bit of disbelief, but my family is by far my biggest achievement. By far.
Although I don’t usually think of my kids as goals fulfilled, I do think that we can apply some of the same goal/achievement language to the act of parenting. I know that some of my own satisfaction in being a parent comes from the joy of raising these magnificent creatures in line with my own dreams for them. Not that my dreams are the only ones that matter to them. Not hardly. But I do think that the goals of raising happy, healthy, ethical kids are important for me and them. And the extent to which I see this happening makes me happy.
Yet another spectacular example of how much alike we are. I’m a naturally “busy” person, it’s really quite crazy. And like you, some of that comes from the act of doing, and doing LOTS, but now I’m realizing (particularly after reading Raising Happiness) that contentment is something more. It’s a knowing and a feeling that just fills us. I get that in this blogging world, more than I thought possible. It worries me a bit. There is something here that I’m not getting otherwise, and sometimes I wonder why.
That is not to say that I don’t get it in other ways, but it’s less obvious for me in other things. After reading along with the book club, I’m determined to work on it in all parts of my life. Now if only I could find the time :-).
XO
Yes! Your point about contentment is such an important one – and you’re right: it’s hard to feel content from sheer busyness; there has to be some real meaning to the busyness.
I do like to keep busy. I usually have at least two things going at once.
But I do realize that a lot of it is a defense mechanism that keeps me from having to deal with stuff that my brain naturally plays with if I don’t keep it swamped.
Happiness, I suppose, would be not having the stuff that your brain plays with if it isn’t busy. Someday, maybe.
Mmm, such a good point. Flooding the heart and mind with minutiae to avoid dealing with the big stuff. I’ve got to think more about the extent to which I do just that.
Accomplishing tasks and attaining goals always makes me feel better. Especially when it’s something creative. Thank you for blogging and nurturing this online community. It’s one of the the bright spots of my day. :)
And thank you, Erica, for being such an important part of that community!
So much food for thought here, lady. And I love the way you described what blogging does for you. Me too. Hitting publish after spinning words, that makes me feel happy too.
Great post. (of course) :)
I think you make a really good point here, and it’s honestly something I’ve never thought about. So much of the stuff that I do (laundry, cleaning, dishes, shopping for food) is a never-ending task. As soon as I do it, there’s more waiting for me.
I need goals! Even small ones.
Thank you. I learn good stuff here.
“But I also really appreciate the idea of being able to shape my own happiness through my intentions and my commitment to carrying them out.”
Kristen, this is brilliant. I’m serious.
I think that so many people are focused on new fads that supposedly will make them happy and they forget that they have the choice to be happy. They can make their own happiness. Like you.
Thanks, Amber. I will say, though, that I recognize that I know I am very lucky to be dealing with a baseline of health, financial stability, and emotional support without which I wouldn’t be in any position to set goals and (hopefully) reach them.
You know – you (and Good Housekeeping) make a great point.
I was happy but felt something was amiss when I had all the time in my hands but didn’t have anything specific to work towards other than getting to bed on time every night. With the blog and a set goal for our future to relocate and hopefully for me to settle for a less demanding job so I could spend more time raising my little one, this sense of purpose makes me feel alive, especially since I know that each step I take is one closer to our goal and that makes me really happy!
I’m so glad you are at and in a place, Justine, where you feel like you are making progress toward your goals. Good Housekeeping and I have tremendous faith in you! ;)
I am not a particularly goal oriented person. Having a goal makes me stressed out and then only relieved when it occurs. The only real goals I’ve set for myself in the last 15 years or so were getting into medical school and having a baby. I’m happiest just going with the flow. Maybe its an unwillingness to risk failure? I don’t know…
so true. busy does not equal happy. it often does just the opposite!
Fantastic post! As you know, I’m pretty keen on my Happiness Project and have learned a few things from it!
This part: “But I also really appreciate the idea of being able to shape my own happiness through my intentions and my commitment to carrying them out.” – is one of the most important lessons I’m learning.
That I, no one else, is in control of my happiness. It is up to me. My commitment to my own well-being and making it happen.
Thank you Kristen for another beautiful post.
That sense of personal control really is at the heart of it, isn’t it? I know we don’t always have control over what happens to us, but, even on my worst days, I do get a lot of satisfaction from controlling what I can.
Extreme Moose Tracks?? Why do I not know of this magical dessert? Adding purchase of said item to my to-do list …
And therein lies my difficulty with goals. I make to-do lists to make myself feel more productive. And the less productive I feel? The more things I add to my list to generate a sense of productivity. It’s a goal-setting Catch 22!
I hear you about the to-do lists (and about the Extreme Moose Tracks: it’s like regular Moose Tracks, but with a chocolate ice cream base and more fudge striping. Amazing!). They can be a trap to making us feel guilty and purposeless. I’ve actually stopped relying on mine as much as I used to, even while trying to be more mindful about goal-setting in my personal projects (especially my writing projects).
YES, yes. Before I had my 3rd child, my daughter, I spent a lot of time organizing and cleaning. Part of it might have been nesting, but it was also to keep busy. To feel like I contributed to something. Now that I have 3 kids running under my feet, I can’t do as much as I used to. But I think making sure they’re safe at the end of the day is something.
Does the substance of the goal matter? Because if it doesn’t, you could just reframe a trip to Walmart in terms of things that you want to achieve. Maybe just the process of thinking about what your objective is causing you to do things that you find more rewarding.
That is a really thought-provoking question, AE. Personally, I tend to feel happier achieving and maintaining a more substantive goal (e.g. writing and submitting an essay for possible publication) than a less substantive one (e.g. buying the week’s groceries). Both give me some satisfaction, but the degree of satisfaction tends to correlate to how invested I was in the task and how it connected to a bigger goal. Thinking about your comment, though, reframing a trip to the grocery store as part and parcel of nurturing my family probably would help me feel happier doing it.
Thanks for this great food for thought.
I really love this, because I can relate so much! When I first became a stay-at-home mom I did the same thing and made the same error in mistaking busyness for happiness. I wish you much success in setting and reaching your goals :)
Thank you, Alisha! I wish the same for you!
This is really interesting, as I have an aversion to busyness. I’m the type to try like crazy to consolidate errands (though because of our rural situation, of course, “going into town” is an event).
I’ve spent many days and nights being UNhappy about busyness! Even busyness with a purpose. I often have to remind myself to be thankful for and proud of my goal-oriented, productive busyness. That I find my work in education meaningful, that I value the do-it-ourselves approach we’ve taken with our home.
Setting goals and staying focused on their promise is so constructive, but it isn’t always easy. I enjoyed reading about that moment of revelation for you, and I’m glad to be part of a community that factors into your happiness.
You know, Leslie, your comment really helped me reconsider my goal-oriented busyness not as an ideal goal, but rather in opposition to the pointless busyness that I pursued before. To me nothing sounds better than a day of complete peace with large swaths of time stretching out in front of me to read and sleep and just be. But in the absence of that possibility – and I imagine that your life is far busier than mine given everything you have on your plate at the moment – I go for engaged busy rather than pointless busy or, even worse to me, unengaged boredom. Does that make sense?
Oh yes, me too. I love achieving something. Crossing something off my list. Feeling like I accomplished something when these days at home with the kids, it’s next to impossible. This is why I put little things like, “drink your coffee” on my list so that I KNOW I will cross it off! :)
And yes, this blog world, it also makes me so incredibly happy. Having a place to place my words and my heart and having friends to read them and respond to them. It’s the definition of happy for me these days.
Thanks Kristen!
I’m smiling at the idea of crossing off “drink your coffee.” Do you know how often I find my cold coffee hours after I’ve started to drink it? I think that’s a goal that I could handle and that would make me very happy indeed!
You have such a sweetness about you. And I love that you are out there, somewhere close. thank you. That makes me happy.
Sometimes with goals…I feel like I take one step forward and two back. It’s difficult to keep up the momentum.
I’ve never been the exercising type but recently got into running and then most recently did a sprint triathlon. I was so happy to achieve this goal I almost cried during the bike ride!
Good for you, Cathy! Getting back into some sort of exercise routine would go a long way to making me happy, too, I think.
I read once that the feeling you have when you are too busy is much better than the feeling you have when you have nothing to do. As a stay-at-home mom…coming up on my 8th school year of being at home…I am finally beginning to realize that I do need to come up with some new goals. I am perpetually busy (with four kids) but I am also perpetually bored. Thanks for the reminder and the inspiration to begin to think outside of my little box!
Perpetually busy and perpetually bored is exactly the way I felt during the first year or so of my older son’s life. Exactly. Before I had kids, I would have found it difficult to imagine being bored with four kids, but now I know exactly what you mean.
Thanks, Janelle!
But I also really appreciate the idea of being able to shape my own happiness through my intentions and my commitment to carrying them out. – I like this.We all must find purpose in life. I think meaning people use business to fill the void, but I think only meaning (which leads to happiness) can fill the void. And always I find that happiness follows love closely.
Do you ever ask yourself what brings you joy? I do because the answer has changed over the years. It is not an every day kind of question.
I have also come to accept that it is ok not to be happy all the time. I spend chunks where I am somewhere else, not sad, not happy or angry. Kind of an in between place and I am ok with that.
What I usually seek is to be content in my own silence.
Great question, Jack. And I agree that happiness is not a place I am or even want to be all the time. What I do appreciate is figuring out what brings me the joy you mention. That way I can (hopefully) access joy when I need it or want it.
While I like goals/lists, to help keep me busy, I dont know that it necessarily makes me happy.
I am the happiest when I see my children happy.
I dont see many smiles these days, with them being 15 & 20. That is such a tough time in life.
So I havent been happy much either.
As a former high school teacher, I have seen the challenges of those years from a different perspective and wish all of you well as you move forward, hopefully finding much happiness along the way.
Totally…I think this is 90% of the reason I knit and sew (other than the pretty colors and textures)…accomplishing something tangible– (new curtains! organized drawers! half a dozen pairs of baby shoes!) makes me happy…or more accurately, keeps me one step back from the abyss of depression.
Please feel free to knit me new curtains (or a scarf!) anytime you stand on the brink of the abyss. :)
I definitely am more happy (and confident and attractive) when I’m setting and achieving goals. Whether it’s meeting deadlines for work, planning a community event, or raising funds for a local charity, I feel so good when I tackle a challenge.
Now, the small hurdles leading up to the big finish? Not so happy-making. I’m still learning how to take on those tiny every-day challenges.
Wow. The busyness thing. That is me. The blogging thing. I do the same thing. Relishing in completing a goal. Your post was a breath of fresh air for me this morning.
For me, having daily goals are important even though they may appear to be mundane to the outside observer. I am not devising a cure for a disease or working toward peace, but I am carving out, I hope, a happier world for my daughter, my husband, and my friends. I think it is important to have these daily goals, especially after transitioning from a “professional” to a writer/SAHM. The goals help me fill the space with purpose.
Thanks for this post. Thanks for visiting me even before Momalom. I appreciate it.
Hi Rudri – I’m glad this post resonated with you. Your comment resonated with me, especially this: “For me, having daily goals are important even though they may appear to be mundane to the outside observer. I am not devising a cure for a disease or working toward peace, but I am carving out, I hope, a happier world for my daughter, my husband, and my friends.”
Really pleased to have Five for Ten as the perfect excuse to renew strengthen our connection!
Thanks. Looking forward to our dialogue in the future.
Hi Kristen. I can totally relate to this idea. I have always loved running and having races to run and times to beat — always having new goals out there. Even when my son was first born, I got right back out there on the roads, running and racing. But this year, I have been so busy with returning to work that I have not been able to fit in running or racing. And I have missed it. I don’t think I fully realized how important these running goals were to me until they weren’t a part of my day to day life.
Recently, I’ve been getting up wicked early to get my run or workout in. Difficult but so worthwhile. It’s a great way to begin the day, checking off a goal completed.
That’s awesome, Amelia. I know that exercise inevitably energizes me, but it’s been too long since I’ve made it one of my goals. I am grateful for this bit of inspiration!
I couldn’t have said it better myself. I find myself trying to fill my day by doing “things” but at the end of the day I still don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything. Having a clear goal, making cookies or crackers, has really helped.
Goals = Happiness for me for sure. Well, the attaining of them, anyway. You couldn’t have written this post any better, Kristen.
A. Goal. Having one and working toward it. Your post gave me an epiphany–I never articulated happiness in this way but you’re spot on.
Thanks for being here, Denise, and for your nice words. I’m glad my mini-revelation helped you make one as well!
Since “retiring” I have found myself in the same position as you. What makes me happy? Being busy? And what is busy? Who knows? I’ve only been blogging for two out of the 8 years I have been a SAHM, and I am also amazed at how fulfilled I feel, how happy it makes me. Yet, when I am writing, or commenting, sometimes I feel guilty for not doing other more “purposeful” things, like laundry, or dinner, or dishes, or reading to my kids. So I will stop for a while, or not spend enough time on a post and hit publish too soon. I think I am doing the right thing, until I find myself crabby and irritable, only to figure out it’s because I have denied myself something that makes myself happy.
Oh, why must I torture myself so??
I think I’m going to start saying that I’m “retired” too. I like it, Gibby.
I’m also good at self-inflicted guilt. The specific thing I’m struggling with right now is not letting blogging, commenting, etc. take over my life. Some days I want it to and then – yup – the guilt sets in. Guilt over happiness. Torture indeed.
I have always thought the reason why accomplishing something brings me happiness is because I feel a false sense of control. I organize the photos that have piled for months in their neat little dated books or boxes? Control. Happy. I finish inputting grades for my 54 students? Control. Happy. Even when I hit “publish” on my blog, I feel like I’ve DONE something, made something, the sense of accomplishment gives me a sense of control over my life and my happiness and my self. Does this even make sense???
Achieving goals DEFINITELY makes me happy (happiest one I would have to say is finishing a few athletic events, such as my half-marathons), but the everyday stuff brings me the most joy.
I totally get what you’re saying here. And, as a control freak, I wonder about the correlation between my own goal-setting and my need to be in control of things.
I also appreciate your distinction between happiness and joy. Through this discussion, I’ve started to realize that the way I’m spinning happiness here is closer to contentment than joy. And that my moments of joy definitely come from those magical moments with my kids and Husband.
Can I just say that blogging was a possible option for the topic of my happiness post? ;) It really does mean so much, having something to show at the end of the day (other than a not so tidy house or children sleeping…) and the community… that’s another whole aspect.
Achieving goals has never been a huge part of my make up, but this blogging thing has helped that aspect of my life – and gives me something to work on for me. Which makes this mama a happier mama, and in turn makes the family happier ;)
Kristen,
As always, I read your posts and I am nodding and “um-hmming” in agreement!
I, too, do not like having nothing to do. It seems that this body prefers being in constant motion, with a detailed list in hand, a goal to attain in the near future.
As for the whole blogging thing, it makes me so happy. So happy to be doing something that brings me joy, so happy to be connecting with other people with similar circumstances, similar experiences…It gives me a sense of accomplishment, to see my title, my post, my name on something semi-tangible on an almost daily basis.
Thank you for your beautiful words, your comments and the opportunities you provide me and your other readers to really think about we do, and why we do it. :)
Thank you so much for these kind words, Maria. I feel so lucky to have you as a part of my online community!
For a long time, I totally conflated getting things done — any things — with happiness. I try to be more selective about what goals I set for myself now, but under duress, I slip back into “Must fold laundry! Must degrease the toaster oven!” mode just to feel like I have something to show for existing. Not a very happy way to live, exactly. But baking a pear tart? Hmmm … must find my pear-tart equivalent (perhaps one that allows me to keep my clothing size …)
We just did the Meyers-Briggs personality tests at work, and apparently, achieving goals does make me happy!
And so would your pear tart.
And I hope you cancelled flylady, as wonderful a service as that is for those who need it.
I had to! I couldn’t keep up with all the e-mails, as sweet as she is!
Hi Kristen!
Reading your blog and the comments of those who leave them has been so revealing for me, in particular this post. Once upon a time, I had a super successful career. I won awards and climbed ladders and set goals and achieved them. I had a great career for 10 years before my husband and I decided to ‘settle down’ and raise children. I wasn’t sure how great of a mom I would be. I wasn’t sure I would love staying at home. I wasn’t sure about any of it. BUT, I love it. All of it. And I’m good at it. I feel my goal is to raise healthy, happy, and courteous men. It’s my goal to shape, love and care for them. And I know what I’m doing is important and special. I find I don’t need the accolades, or the awards. But I wonder if that’s because I’ve already had years full of them? Hmmm…. you’ve made me think and I LOVE (there’s that word) that about you. : )
Tasha
p.s. And as I hit the submit button I have so many more thoughts on this issue, but I’ll leave it at this one. I wish we were ‘real’ friends because I bet we’d have great and lengthy chats. : )
When I first got pregnant, I remember my dad, having seen colleagues and employees commit to a decision they ended up regretting before their kids were born, advising me not to make up my mind about staying home or going back to work until I had tried out stay-at-home motherhood for awhile. To be honest, I always thought I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom and so I was surprised when I didn’t find the experience as perfect as it had been in my imagination. (Crazy, I know: nothing is perfect.)
Your comment has me thinking about the way in which I set these little goals for myself – in addition to the goal of raising my kids to be happy, healthy, and – yes! – courteous – and I wonder if it’s a subconscious way I’m trying to connect to the professional part of my identity that’s not as active now. Most of my goals involve something somewhat related to my job as a teacher; I haven’t yet become a great athlete or a fabulous crafter. :)
So now you’ve made me think, too. And isn’t that just what this whole endeavor is all about?!
I do not equate busy with happy at all. Happy, for me, is wide open days and freedom to do whatever i want.
I do believe that Botticellian may be my new favorite word. Now I’m going to look for an excuse to use that in my next post, ha.
I couldn’t agree more about blogging being a great, healthy, non-demanding outlet for we that are result driven. Thank you for sharing a great post.
Thank you for visiting, Kisha! (And feel free to use Botticellian as often as you’d like…I’ve often wished it described my own hair, but no such luck.) :)
Blogging=happiness. Maybe not exactly what you meant but it’s what I take away. The clearly defined goal setting, goal achieving, community building on the internet. Yea, for me too!
Very well said!
I was talking to a 6 year old,just yesterday,and he said,”I wish that I knew everything!”
My first question was,”Wouldn’t that be boring?”
He wanted more time for play and less time for school. It is so sad that school is not always a happy place for kids.
I DO believe that our capacity for feeling joy is in our genetic make-up. Happiness ,though, is exactly how you described it.
YES – setting and achieving goals (regardless of the size) makes me happy too. Maybe because I like to make lists, and LOVE checking things off of them. Maybe it’s because it’s something I do independently. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because I’ve gotten really good at validating myself!
Wonderful points. The older I get the less I want to be doing the “busy” stuff, and the less sense of accomplishment it gives me. It’s the more meaningful thought out goals or the progression toward them that are the most fulfilling to me. And family. Even more as they grow.
“I also really appreciate the idea of being able to shape my own happiness through my intentions and my commitment to carrying them out.”
This is very powerful, because YOU are claiming your own happiness. I believe strongly that this is so very important. And it also is ongoing. Your goals will change, and so must your course of happiness pursuit. Great post, Kristen!
Thank you for sharing this, Kristen. I fully agree that setting and achieving goals is a source of happiness. And not in a perfectionist way, like when I was younger. Just in the sense that I LOVE to have a “project” to work on, something to work toward, a motivation and drive to learn and create.
And I think the important thing is they don’t all have to be big, impressive goals. It’s not all finishing grad school or running a marathon. It’s little goals too that make up life and build happiness.
You and I are so alike, Eva. I just know it. :) I know all about perfectionist ways and about struggling to realize the validity of small goals (said by the woman who followed a marathon training plan when she first started to run).
I also feel a great amount of happiness from blogging. I’m dreaming of blogging and bloggers, for godsakes. I feel like these are people I check in with daily, like my coworkers. Except I can pause and restart all throughout the day. It’s delightful!
“I subscribed to an online service that bombarded me with e-mails reminding me to swish my toilets and swipe my sink.”
I know the one. Me, too. Guilty. I sometimes make myself busy to the point where, of course, I can’t handle it all. Which only leads to unhappiness. Especially pointless busyness. I’m struggling with this in my new (most likely temporary) career as a stay-at-home-mom (though that term makes me cringe. What else can we call it?). What did I do all day? Anything? Busy-ness wise, no. But I took care of the children. I have to keep reminding myself of that.
This: “But I also really appreciate the idea of being able to shape my own happiness through my intentions and my commitment to carrying them out.” is a line on which I’m going to linger.
Can I just say that it makes me feel better somehow that you were doing that e-mail service too? Put it in the misery loves company department, I guess.
I completely relate with the busyness syndrome. Once I left the corporate world and became a stay-at-home mom I felt like I had to justify my existence. As if being a mother needed justification! At the time, though, it was really hard to adjust to my new life and the new life living in my house, relying on me for his every need.
Like you, I’ve found my way to happiness through setting goals and surrounding myself (as much as possible) with people who energize me. Blogging is definitely among the ways I set and achieve goals. I finally can reconcile motherhood and me, and how we work together. Most of the time, anyway!
Great post.
Thanks so much for visiting Motherese, Missy, and for these really thoughtful contributions to the discussion. The idea of justification really resonates with me. I had that exact same feeling once I traded in my job for my new career as a stay-at-home mom: the need to explain my choice to be “just” a mom. I also really appreciate what you say about reconciling motherhood and self. That’s a big chapter of the story I am living right now!
Great to have you here!
Good topic. As a father, my personal goals have become secondary to the kids. I get lots of satisifaction in seeing them have a success or experience something new. I really did not think it would happen like that.
I really hope I can get to that point too as my kids get older!
Even if I get to it at the end of a long day, I look forward to your posts and to the spirit that encourages us to keep writing, exploring, seeking balance and allowing our happiness to sneak up on us.
Thanks for being here and for the feeling/thinking space you provide.
I love this subject matter of goals, they are vital to my everyday contentment! I think of them as the mile markers that make sense of my life road. A few recent ones:
Goal: Teach son to tie his shoes.
Goal: Make a massive first aid kit; never be without a band aid again.
Goal: Do not embarrass myself by rambling on answering machines.
Goal: Learn how/and practice to say a gracious good-bye without awkwardness on the phone.
First two; check. Last two; working on it.
Goals as “mile markers that make sense of my life road”: well put, Heidi.
I think I’m going to have to steal your last two goals. The second from last is a particular affliction for me!
I linked to you in a post today. Loved this post!
Thanks so much, Sarah. Can’t wait to come check it out!