Rules About Happiness

What does it take for you to be happy on a given day? Have you ever thought about that? Does a very specific circumstance have to be present? Do many very specific circumstances have to be present? It's my belief that some of us make it more difficult than it needs to be to feel happy or to have a "good day". I say, why limit your ability to feel happy to only times when something unusually spectacular happens to you? Why not wake up having a good day? Why not have a great day despite...or better yet even, because of the day's challenges? Maybe you're able to learn something from that event or chain of events that forever makes you a better person and thereafter your very life easier and/or more rewarding? Why not let your default emotion be joy or happiness? Isn't it safe to say that life would be better that way? Would it not be more enjoyable if you were normally happy? People tend to be attracted to the energy of upbeat, positive people so you'd probably make more friends and see more opportunities come your way, giving you even still more reason to be happy, right? I totally agree.

That said, I'm going to share something with you that I learned about 2 years ago. It was during a very emotionally challenging time in my life that I woke up one morning (Jan. 01, 2007) after a very uplifting and relaxed New Year's Eve. It had been such a great feeling that I didn't remember feeling for quite some time. As I got up, I said to myself, "It's the best day of my life." From that day forward, I committed to making every day the best day of my life no matter what happened. In other words, I stopped basing my happiness on what happened to me. Anyone who knows me already knows what my answer will be when they ask me how I'm doing because "Best day of my life!" is my only answer. Further, I'm conscious of how I feel as I tell someone because I don't want to just allow the words to nonchalantly roll out of my mouth. I say it with passion. I feel the emotion of it...the energy of it. And you know what? It works! Many folks, upon hearing me say it tell me that I made their day (especially after I explain to them how I learned the trick). In fact, some of my friends and acquaintances come looking for me at times just to ask me how I'm doing so they can hear that. This gives me even more joy...it gives me the joy of purpose. I know I'm giving of my positive energy to those who could use a lift. I'm not saying every day goes exactly the way I want it to. I'm saying I'm happy no matter how it goes.

Enough about me though. This is about you and your happiness. What makes you happy? For most of us, it would probably serve us to be a little less specific about what has to happen to us for us to feel the feeling of happiness, and more certain about the fact that we're responsible for (and therefore should be committed to) our own joy. It's just a humble opinion, but my advice is to try it. You just might like it...