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Article: Tolerations

If you think that the ticket to true happiness is to have more money, a better job or a different mate, you could be overlooking a few simple things that could lead you to greater happiness as soon as tomorrow.

It is not the lack of the above mentioned items that puts happiness at arms reach. It is the small irritations that we encounter everyday.

A good friend of mine turned me on to the idea of paying attention to the small, almost daily irritants that diminish my sense of happiness and well being. In other words, the things that drive me crazy!

So one weekend when I was working around the house I stopped and wrote down all of the irritants I encountered. There were 13 things altogether. Here's the short list:

• Uncomfortable shoes
• Uncomfortable underwear (or clothing in general)
• Drawers and closets that are too stuffed (although organized)
• Old, yucky dish sponge
• Too much junk mail
• Poor quality writing pens (It's always the one you grab. It never fails)
• Difficult vacuum (I hate my vacuum. Unfortunately, it is fairly new)

So what did I do?

• Donated the uncomfortable shoes (they were in good condition and probably fit someone else perfectly)
• Tossed out the ill fitting underwear (and went and bought new)
• Looked at my personal belongings with a more critical eye, eliminated items and created more space
• Tossed out the sponge and pulled out a new one from under the sink (I already had a replacement at the ready)
• Wrote to the mail preference service to eliminate junk mail
• Threw away the writing pens (no one else would enjoy using them)
• Started researching vacuums (got any suggestions?)

And I must say, by eliminating these annoyances that I continued to tolerate day after day, I sent a message to myself that I am worth the time and energy to make myself happy.

And you are too.

Start making your list and then do something about it.