The BIG Re-frame: Cathy's Continuum of Happiness

Well, well, well - after I posted my "Cathy's Hierarchy of Needs" it occurred to me that it would be great if we could actually address the various elements of our lives in perfect hierarchical order.  My to-do list each day could go something like this:

1) Pray
2) Take my vitamins
3) Kiss my husband
4) Hug my children
5) Read a chapter of a fascinating book
6) Call my mother and text my cousin in Newfoundland
7) Have breakfast with my friend, Joy
8) Drop off gently used clothes to Goodwill, on my way to...
9) Arriving at work as fresh as a daisy and fully committed!

....ahhhh - sounds perfect - perfectly unlikely!!!  While my lovely hierarchy of needs does assign an order to the elements of my life that are the most important, it doesn't really do justice to how they manifest themselves in daily living.  In reality, these are the inter-connected elements that form a continuum and so I think I will re-frame my Hierarchy of Needs as Cathy's Continuum of Happiness.  Remembering that happiness is inherently intrinsic - my ability to derive happiness from any of the elements along the continuum will be based on how much I put into them, not how much I think I should out of them!! As with so many things in life, happiness requires the constant managing of expectations. 

So here's how my days are more likely to look:

Cathy's Continuum of Happiness