YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.
Abe Lincoln said the quote above many years ago and today, on the anniversary of his assassination, I started pondering this quote again. I’ve had this quote on a faded greeting card hanging above my desk for over 20 years as a daily reminder that I get to choose to be happy…or not!
DO YOU CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY?
Take June: at 55, she experiences her first job loss and is understandably devastated. Her husband is retired and receives a nice pension and Social Security; their homes and cars are paid for and they have a substantial retirement portfolio. Rather than focusing on any of this, June is miserable and stressed out and continues to focus on what she doesn’t have.
Sally is also 55, though she’s a single mother and works 2 jobs to support them. She is one of the happiest people you will ever meet. She says “my kids and I are healthy, we have a roof over our heads and food on the table – I have so much to be grateful for.”
“ WHEN YOU CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS, THE THINGS YOU LOOK AT CHANGE.”
This quote from Wayne Dyer is so true! The greeting card I mentioned earlier has a picture of 2 girls in a window with flowers all around. “Sally” is beaming with happiness, while “June” is scowling at a bee.
HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE.
A study in the Journal of Positive Psychology showed that just trying to be happier could actually boost moods and feelings of well being. The study had participants listen to happy music – half told to try to be happier the other half told to NOT try to feel happier. Sure enough, the first group reported feeling happier – simply because they tried to! To help my writing today, I tuned into the Rolling Stones and cranked up the volume — boy do I feel happy and I choose to be happy!
It really can be as simple as putting on some happy music! Choosing to be mindful, choosing to be happy is like any muscle – it needs to be exercised over and over again. If this doesn’t come naturally to you, take heart – you can learn how to do this!
I’d like to invite you to begin practicing to choose to be happy for the next seven days.
First, get a small notebook and write “I give myself permission to choose to be happy”. Next, first thing in the morning, write down three things that you are happy about or grateful for. Throughout the day, continue to look for things that make you happy and write them down. It could be hearing an old song you love on the radio, noticing the blooming flowers, a child playing…The point is we are looking for the little things that make us happy! The more we actively look for them, the happier we feel!
At the end of the day, go over your list, perhaps reading it out loud. Notice how you probably will sleep better because you are shifting your focus from what you don’t want to what you DO want.
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Please come back in seven days and comment below as to how much happier you feel, simply because you are choosing it!
If you want some help getting happy, CLICK HERE. It would be my honor and delight to assist you!
