Over this past week, I’ve written about the gift I gave myself this holiday season (eliminating stress and anxiety) and reaching my goals that I set for 2010. I really feel I lived my mantra of “Be  Happy – Be Healthy – Just Be” in 2010.

In return, many of you asked what my mantra for 2011 would be. The answer:

strive to blissfully thrive

Yeah, it’s a bit cheesy – but it rhymes, so I’ll remember it. Let’s break that down, shall we?

• The definition of STRIVE: attempt by employing effort.
• The definition of THRIVE: boom: grow vigorously. make steady progress.
• The definition of BLISS: a state of extreme happiness

Throw it all together: I’m announcing my attempt to make steady progress towards reaching a state of extreme happiness. Doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Now for the plan to make it happen.

Confession: I’m a bit of a self-help book nut. I check out piles upon piles of hardcover books from the Cuyahoga County Public Library on how to better myself at a time. But recently one in particular stuck with me: The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky:

(picture from amazon.com)

From amazon.com book description:

• Sonja Lyubomirsky has pioneered a detailed yet easy-to-follow plan to increase happiness in our day-to-day lives-in the short term and over the long term.
• Lyubomirsky reveals that this set point determines just 50 percent of happiness while a mere 10 percent can be attributed to differences in life circumstances or situations. This leaves a startling, and startlingly underdeveloped, 40 percent of our capacity for happiness within our power to change.
• Using more than a dozen uniquely formulated happiness-increasing strategies, The How of Happiness offers a new and potentially life-changing way to understand our innate potential for joy and happiness as well as our ability to sustain it in our lives.

As you read the book, you are encouraged to take a quiz to see which of these 12 strategies would work best for you. Instead of just trying a few, I’ve decided to dedicate a month of each of these strategies over the course of 2011:

• January: Expressing Gratitude: Counting your blessing for what you have or conveying your gratitude and appreciation to one or more individuals whom you’ve never properly thanked.
• February: Cultivating Optimism: Keeping a journal in which you imagine and write about the best future for yourself or practicing to look at the bright side of every situation.
• March: Avoiding Overthinking & Social Comparison: Using strategies to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself with others.
• April: Practicing Acts of Kindness: Doing good things for others, whether friends or strangers, either directly or anonymously, either spontaneously or planned.
• May: Nurturing Social Relationship: Picking a relationship in need of strengthening, and investing time and energy in healing, cultivating, affirming, and enjoying it.
• June: Developing Strategies for Coping: Practicing ways to endure or surmount a recent stress, hardship or trauma.
• July: Learning to Forgive: Keeping a journal or writing a letter in which you work on letting go of anger and resentment toward one or more individuals who have hurt or wronged you.
• August: Increasing Flow Experiences: Doing more activities that truly engage you, where you completely “lose” yourself, which are challenging and absorbing.
• September: Savoring Life’s Joys: Paying close attention, taking delight, and replaying life’s momentary pleasures and wonders, through thinking, writing, drawing or sharing with another.
• October: Committing to Your Goals: Picking one, two or three significant goals that are meaningful to you and devoting time and effort to pursuing them.
• November: Practicing Religion and Spirituality: Becoming more involved in your church, temple, or mosque or reading and pondering spiritually themed books.
• December: Taking Care of Your Body (Meditation & Physical Activity): Engaging in physical activity, meditating, and smiling and laughing.

I’m looking forward to diving into the January activity of expressing gratitude – thankful even to have an outlet like this to do so! Looks like you have a LOT to look forward to in 2011, PIP readers!

What’s your mantra, word or saying guiding you in 2011? Any resolutions motivating your every day life?