How many times have you heard that “happiness is a choice”? I’ve heard it over and over again. Shoot, I say it all the time. Knowing that it’s our choice to be happy and that it doesn’t depend on other people is a big deal. So many people seem to make their happiness other peoples responsibility. Wrong. It’s really all up to us. You want happiness. You have to choose it. Daily.
It’s easy to just throw that out there. But what does “choosing it” look like? For me, it’s a daily, sometimes moment-by-moment choice. There’s so much these days to steal your happiness. Choosing joy and happiness isn’t always easy. I’m committed though and I you should be too.
Shake up your circle
That doesn’t always mean to get new friends. Although it’s true that sometimes people are only in our lives for a season and you have to be ok with letting them go. For me, I tend to gravitate toward different friends at different times. Some of my friendships have gotten deeper, at different times, based on shared experiences.
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Breathe
Relax, smell the roses, tulips or whatever else you like. Just take notice of all the beauty around you. It’s there, I promise. Don’t get so caught up in being “busy” that you don’t take a minute to breathe in all the good stuff around you. Busy isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes it’s just a filler. If we’re just busy but not making any progress – what’s the point?
Gratitude
I’ve had to check myself lately. I had been focusing too much on the things I felt I’d been missing out on. What I needed was a reminder that it’s really all about perspective. I changed my tune from talking about all the things I have to do to all the things I get to do. While I carry a lot on my plate as wife, mom and writer – these are all things I wanted. I was looking at them as all that I have to do instead of seeing how blessed I am to get do to these things.
When I find myself in this place, I start counting my blessings. I get basic about the things I’m thankful for. It’s those little things that aren’t so little that we easily take for granted. It doesn’t have to be about a bunch of huge things going on in your life, just focus on the little things and you’ll realize how much you really have. Promise.
What does choosing happiness look like for you?
5 Comments on How to Be Happy
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I had tshirts made that say “I am in charge of how I feel and today I choose happiness.”
Like the shake up your circles, it good to hang out with people who are optimistic and working towards big goals and positive changes. I do that through a couple of community groups I am involved with.
Great suggestions! I talk a lot about these types of things on my blog, as well. For example, my last two blog posts were about creativity and how we actually create our own lives on a daily basis. I just finished a blog post about gratitude (not published yet). I actually think gratitude is the key to happiness!
Focusing on nature, art, and music goes a long way in pointing me in the direction of happiness. Thank you for asking.
Such a great article! I believe practicing gratitude is so, so important, and especially when you’re going through a rough time, taking a few minutes everyday to literally count your blessings can help immensely.