The Happiness Choice

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Ask any parent what they want for their children’s lives and I’ll bet you get the same answer: “I just want them to be happy.”

Sounds reasonable – right? So then why don’t we wish the same for ourselves?

More and more I’m beginning to believe (not just think, but truly believe) that happiness is a choice. Forget the fact that you’ve probably seen that phrase on a coffee mug or poster with a cutsey kitten photo, the fact remains: you can choose to find the negative or positive in any situation. Don’t believe me? Just ask Viktor Frankl.

So here’s what I’m doing about it. I’ve decided that starting today, happiness is my highest priority! After all – life is too short to not be happy as much as possible. I’ll tell you how I’m going to do it so that you can join me in this experiment.

First – I’m going to try to stay focused on the present moment – every moment. To do this, I’ll need to try to turn off the narrating voice in my head – no small task. I’ll start by re-reading one of my favorite books: The Power of Now

Next – I’m going to look for something in each moment and situation that I can be happy about.

Finally – I’m going to spend some time each day thinking about things as I’d like them to be. I’ll ask myself, “What would be really great? What would make me so happy I’d be giddy?”

Another important key to all of this is gratitude. It’s very difficult to be negative and grateful at the same time. Thankfully, I have LOTS to be grateful for!

Now some may call this “wishful thinking” or accuse me of pushing a Pollyanna attitude. That’s OK. My guess is that these people will not be happier than me!

I don’t expect this experiment to be easy. But I do expect the results to be profound. Check back to see how I’m doing (I’ll provide updates in the comments section of this post.)

Do you have any suggestions on how I can make the most of my experiment? Do you have any experience with this sort of attitude? Let’s hear about it in the comments.