Sound boring?… yes, and probably not what you had in mind as get happy advice,  but at the wise age of 38, I’ve come to realize that what seems to make me the most happy in the moment is not always truly what leads to my greater overall contentment and sense of peace. I’m not a naturally organized person. In fact the word kind of makes me cringe, goes against the grain like finger nails on the chalkboard. I’m more of a “big picture” person.

For those who are familiar with Myers Briggs Personality Inventory, I land firmly on the ‘P’ side (perceiving : flexible and adaptable) versus the ‘J’ side (judging : structured and decided) which means having to be organized cramps my style.  At the same time, I admire those who can live more routinely and create nice systems that make their everyday lives flow more smoothly. It makes sense, but to me it’s work and just not fun. I’d rather read books, do something artsy, be with friends and family than to maintain laundry, plan meals and keep the house up. As one of my kindred spirits says, “I’m a messy closet” person. Shove it in and close it all away. This is just fine with me…until I spend 20 minutes trying to dig out and piece together my outfit on a frenzied school day morning.

My husband and I both prefer spontaneity and diversity in our activity than same ole same ole, but we’re coming around to feeling that two full-time working parents of two busy children and a dog living in a very old house need to get a little more organized.  With the chaos that surrounds our lives, we need order somewhere.

“Know thyself,” as they say and “knowing is half the battle.” I am pretty self-aware when it comes to my strengths and areas for improvement around organization, but in the past I have often brushed off my responsibility to change in this regard due to my personality type. At this stage in my life, I feel that I need to have the courage to move beyond that “excuse” and try something different even if it does not come easily for me.  Maybe its time for me to follow Gretchen Rubin’s suggestion of: “Accept Yourself and Expect More From Yourself.”     

This year I have a motto of “Feeling Great at 38!” and six months in, I’ve made some lasting positive changes in some of my living habits like increased exercise, while leaving getting more organized at the bottom of the list. For Christmas I received a copy of Rubin’s  Happier at Home, and I can’t wait to get into it for inspiration for 2013! I receive her daily quotations by email and thought I’d share a few that resonate around change that is hard but necessary:

“The true secret of happiness lies in the taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”
-William Morris

“Who is strong? He that can conquer his bad habits.”
-Benjamin Franklin

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.”
-Dwight D. Eisenhower

“One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.”
-Leonardo da Vinci

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.”
-Voltaire

“Habit simplifies our movements, makes them accurate, and diminishes fatigue.”
-William James

“In Zen they say: If something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, try it for eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and so on. Eventually one discovers that it’s not boring at all but very interesting.”
— John Cage

January is National Get Organized Month, so I’m going to get started, one closet at a time. How will you get organized in 2013?