What Happy Women are Doing

Google Images/ Anne Taintor

Sleeping in… on a supremely cooshy bed, with soft sheets, and the perfect pillow. Sipping a fabulous cup of coffee in a sunny window seat from a mug that I cradle with both hands. Taking time to do something for myself that makes my heart sing. Saying no and not feeling guilty afterwards. Taking a hot bath with sea salt and baking soda.

These are some of the ways I cultivate self-care (aka happiness).

I came across the work of Marcus Buckingham when I was writing my post Ladies, Are You Feeling the Blues and thought it was worth sharing. He’s the author of  Find Your Strongest LIfe: What The Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently, a book that explores why today’s women are less happy than they were 40 years ago.

Though the points he makes below are more academic and much broader in scope than my “spa-cious” versions above, they definitely got me thinking. Also wondering what you think about what he says.

According to Buckingham, the happiest and most successful women…

• Don’t agonize over who they aren’t—they accept and act on who they are. They have discovered the role they were born to play and they play it.
• Don’t juggle—they catch-and-cradle. They don’t keep things at bay, but select a few things and draw them in close.
• Don’t strive for balance—they strive for fullness. They intentionally imbalance their lives toward those moments that make them feel strong.
• Always sweat the small stuff—They know and act on the specific details of what invigorates them (and they let go of what doesn’t strengthen them).

–Marcus Buckingham, The Strong Life Test For Women

How do you cultivate happiness? What is one thing you do that makes your heart sing? What do you do in your life that makes you feel spacious and at ease? Feel free to be as broad or as specific as you like.