Last year I decided to start a Happiness Jar (or Gratitude Jar). The idea is to fill it with moments that lifted my spirit, and were fun. So at the end of the day before bed or whenever the urge struck, I would tear off a piece of paper and jot down something that made me smile and feel good. Today I finally emptied that jar to make room for 2015’s entries.
I managed to have 60 moments (err 59, since 1 of them was a duplicate). Most of my happy moments were tied to things I did with friends like “Game Night”, making new friends or reconnecting with old ones. Shockingly, I had quite a few work related moments, and that realization made me smile. Background Acting has allowed me to travel, meet interesting people and experience some fun things, so I can’t wait to see what 2015 holds.
I tried to whittle down my 59 happy moments into a “Top 10 Favourite Moments” pile, and I could only cut the list down to 26 moments. I stopped once it became apparent that my inability to cut my moments down was actually a VERY GOOD thing. The sheer quantity of events, people, and things that I’ve experienced in 2014 couldn’t be paired down because there were so many standout moments worth being thankful for.
I’ve set aside a pen & a bunch of sticky notes just for this year’s jar. Every year is filled with ups & downs, but as long as I can find experiences worth smiling about, things will be more than fine.
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2015!
The Wandering Mind 
Is that real? I did something like that as well.
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Yeah it’s real alright. Those are my notes and bad handwriting, LOL. I found it to be a great way to focus on the positives. My moments ranged from big successes like “Registering with ACTRA” to simple things like “I found 2 shirts I bought and have never worn. Awesome”!
Like I said in my entry I am grateful for the people I’ve met and befriended, and the experiences I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of. I’m gonna post what some of my notes said later this week.
What was your jar like?
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Nice…. It’s a good way to remember the good times in life.
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My jar was most creative thoughts or genius moments….But mines were stored in a Fish Bowl. In which I plan to use in my new content roll out. But congrats and I hope for more good life experiences for you. 🙂
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wow that is a great idea! I was using a journal! and i must admit I didnt keep up on it as much as i should have! but i am on my third gratitude journal! hopefully i will be able to keep it up on it! i wrote my first entry for this year today!
i like your idea better!
happy new year Stephen!!! 🙂
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I did this too!
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Awesome!
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This is great!
I had a friend tell me about a Happiness Jar near the end of last year.
It’s definitely something I’d like to begin doing.
I’m so glad to hear that your experience with it turned out very positive.
Keep up the amazing work!
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Thanks Jay!
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No problemo.
I’m curious, I have a podcast that I do and it would be a pleasure to have you on as a guest.
If you’re interested, please let me know.
Thanks again and have a very blessed day!
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Hey Jay, I would like to be a guest on your podcast sometime. Thanks for asking man.
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Great! The honor and the pleasure is all mine.
Do you have an email address where I can contact you at and send you more details?
Thanks and have a very blessed day!
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