What is the secret to being really happy?
It's simple really, just choose to be happy.
Happiness is your right and you can be happy all the time if you want.
The more you choose to be happy the happier you will be. The more often you choose to be happy the happier you will be. The bigger the happiness you choose the happier you will be. How can you be happier? Just chose to be happier, more often and in bigger amounts.
Unhappy people are only unhappy because the chose to be unhappy. They link unhappiness to many things in their life. You chose to be happy, link happiness to many things in your life.
The bus is late? The unhappy person sees this as a source of unhappiness. Not you. The powerfully positive person, the happy person, like you, chooses to make the bus being late a source of happiness. You've longer to enjoy people watching the others in the queue, or listening to your favourite tracks on your phone, or reading the book you are enjoying.
You're going to arrive late? The unhappy person sees this as a source of unhappiness. Not you. The powerfully positive person, the happy person, like you, chooses being late as a source of happiness. Your boss gets to realise that you are normally a punctual person, as being late is unusual for you. You show your boss you're a conscientious worker by making up the time without being asked. And, by being late, you miss the early morning queue for the kettle.
The utility bill arrives, and is much more than expected? The unhappy person sees this as a source of unhappiness. Not you. The powerfully positive person, the happy person, like you, chooses an unexpectedly large bill as a source of happiness. It's a chance for you to use some of your savings to pay it off, and this gives you the opportunity to reflect on just how much you've managed to save up, and just how smart you were to save. It's an opportunity for you to say "Help!" and then to figure out new ways of getting some additional income into your household, and in the process learn new skills, that you'll have forever, and meet new people.
Choosing to be happy is your choice. It sounds like I'm stating the obvious, but I am often surprised at the number of people I talk to who only really grasp this when I spell it out clearly to them. They have a little eureka moment. Before such a moment, while intellectually they know their happiness is their responsibility, in practice they are acting as if it's the responsibility of everybody else. They blame the government, their family, their neighbours, or the people stuck in the queue ahead of them for their unhappiness, and not themselves.
After their little moment of revelation, I can see that they now know in both their head and heart, that despite what's happening around them, it's up to them how they react to it. It's up to them to:- choose to be happy.
