2016 Smile Jar

I wish I had let myself be happier

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends

I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings

I wish I hadn't worked so hard

I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

The 5 most common regrets people share in their last weeks, days and hours are like a masterclass in how to live a whole life. They also come with more wishes than any Genie can give, but these wishes are even better because we all have the power to make them come true.I started my first Smile Jar in 2013 and as I filled it with bright, colourful notes of laughs, little joys, big news, experiences and fun with friends, I didn't really know what to expect from it.

The idea is to catch your best times and feelings, no matter how big or small they seem, so you can remember and relive them. As you're taken back to all your forgotten times, moments and feelings, it can be a bit like granting yourself all those wishes, one by one. Some people only crack open their jar on New Years Eve, to celebrate all the good and bring that positivity into the next year, but I dip into mine whenever I need a bit of balance, and a real life reminder that reality can be better than it seems. ‘

It's taken me way longer than it should have to bring all the Smiles of 2016 together.. maybe because "The Year of Change " (as I themed it) turned out to be the most tumultuous and unstable year for career and finances I've ever had and more change, stress and need for gin - with a few great mistakes thrown in for the fun of it- than I'd bargained for, or because I regularly dip into the jar anyway, or I'm distractable and kinda lazy, or maybe because I'm a visual guy so like to build a picture from the jar... and the image search is an epic fucking job I procrastinate about (but an interesting one that brings a bunch of smiles of it's own)...who can say, but finally I've bought 2016 to life.

My first Smile Jar in 2013 reminded me that it's the little things that count the most - good friends, forgotten chats over coffees and gins, summer beach days, great music on my walk to work, the scent of fresh cut flowers, fun nights, dancing side to side with Ari at home in my jockstrap and life wins, big and small - so little things are what I expected 2016's Jar to be jam packed with.

Surprisingly my jar was full of variety that included; time spent in my happy places like The Rusty Rabbit and summer beach and pool days, live music gigs and theatre, favourite foods, TV shows, cleaning days, the joy of fresh sheets, hangs with mates, great sex, fun laughs, new friends, fulfilling dreams ( and wishes), selfies, events, career highlights I hadn't even imagined possible, fun modelling gigs, Gogo dancing at Leather Doof, making Diva magic with Maxi, writing for theright.fit, learning to pole dance with the adorable Miranda Tapsell, my geo tat, sneaking through turning 40, the importance of a little altruism and giving back and the simple beauty of watching an ocean sunrise.

Big and little, I had a lot to smile about in 2016 and what's great to know is that I was consciously aware of all of it.I actually found I had two Smile Jars going without even knowing it. The Jar on my bedside table was filled plenty of smiles that I'd remembered to write down ( 110 to be exact) and Instagram was filled with over 100 more that either I'd forgotten or not thought to add.

2016 felt like Dante's Inferno at times but, even when stuck in his 7th circle of hell, I had around 5 things to smile about every week ( and that's just things I recorded).. and that feels like it makes those 5 wishes that little bit easier to make true.