How long will this last?

Yes, it is very late on a Friday night, but goshdarnit I will stick to my commitment and post through thick and thin. Or through late dinner parties and lots of wine.  

Most of my work and personal focus are about sustainability. Normally I think about environmental impacts, but this week I've been wondering about personal sustainability of my projects and mini assignments. How much of my happiness now is tied to having the time to spend on things like contemplation, building personal relationships, doing creative activities like drawing and music, and all the other little things I think have really supported my happiness over the past few weeks? 

A few things give me hope. One is that I know from an academic or a research perspective that it's not my circumstance but my approach that affects my happiness level. Even when I become busier, it doesn't take extra time to smile or tell people that I'm doing fantastically (one of my approaches to reinforce my positive demeanour); or push conversations to a deeper level. I also think that I don't have to spend quite as much time doing all the other creative or meditative activities I'm doing now. Given that I'm now spending perhaps 2-5 minutes in the morning doing little sketches, that seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to integrate into my life at any point.  

I'm also encouraged that it's relatively easy to develop good habits. Even writing now is a great example. I'm really tired and don't have anything profound to say, nor have I done any research this week, but I'm still posting because I commited publicly to doing so. I love tm's suggestion to try swimming (despite me saying how hard it would be to start), so perhaps I need to publicly commit to set up a time to do so together to keep each other accountable. I've gone on a walk every morning since Tuesday, but not half an hour all at once, and it's not yet fun. I think it's because I feel rushed, and I haven't yet molded it into my morning routine. I'm hopeful that I'll start waking up early enough to make it work. Saturday morning will be a bit easier! 

My other sustainability question is about lifestyle where I want to live after I finish school. I just found out I have an interview with the Canadian government for a cool program I applied to a couple of months ago. I'm excited about the possibility, and I'm thinking through what my life would be like there vs. at, for example, an energy company here (not that either things are actually options now), and where I'd best be able to maintain and support all these happiness elements I'm working on now. I'd don't feel totally comfortable writing more details here, but I'd be happy to talk to anyone individually if you're interested.  

Speaking of personal sustainability, I should really go to bed.  

Sleep tight,

Emma