Tammy Logue
Recently, my 14 year old daughter asked me if I was happy. I thought it was an odd question from her, but answered yes. When I quizzed her further about the question, she said, “Don’t mis-understand this mom, but your life doesn’t look very exciting.” Being the kind and thoughtful teenager that she is, she quickly made sure that I understood that she was not trying to be rude. Rather, she wanted me to understand that taking kids to school, picking them up, making lunches, and running her and her sister all over didn’t seem very fun to her. We had a good laugh together as I saw my life through her eyes.
When I stopped to think about her question later in the day I have to admit that I really pondered on her inquisition. Am I truly happy? Do I feel satisfied in my life? Have I achieved everything I dreamed of in my 20’s? Some of the things I set out to do have been accomplished. Yet others are still just a dream.
So, I ask you, “Are you happy?” I want you to really think about it. Are you truly happy? At first, it seems like a simple question. However, when you slow down a bit, I am confident that you often have feelings of discouragement and even defeat. It could come from many different areas of life – career, family, kids, or even financial stress and worry.
While growing up I can remember my dad always saying, “Happiness is a choice!” When I was a kid, I never really paid much attention to what that phrase actually meant. As an adult, I see now that he was right! Your job may not be ideal but it doesn’t have to take away your happiness. The family you were born into might have hurt you, or worst, completely turned their back on you, but that does not have to steal your happiness. Your dream to take your business to the next level might be slow going but that does not dictate happiness in your life. Happiness is something you choose. In the midst of the craziness and difficulty of life, you make a conscience decision to find the positive elements in your world. This is how one can choose a happy inner attitude regardless of outside circumstances.
When you CHOOSE to be happy, life will start to pour you a cup of sweet lemonade even if it began as a pile of lemons. When you make that decision you instantly block out negativity, doubt, and fear. When you get rid of negative emotions there is suddenly room for belief, big dreams, and the ability to keep moving forward. If you are able to keep moving towards your dreams then you have a greater chance of actually seeing those dreams fulfilled!
Today, choose to be happy! As my dad says, it IS a choice. Sometimes, you cannot control the circumstances that surround you. However, you CAN control the inner state of your mind. If you can choose to be happy in the worst of circumstances then your outlook will start to change. A better outlook creates hope! Hope helps build a platform to move you forward. Ultimately, moving forward propels you away from difficulties and on to a better horizon. Don’t waste another moment on discouragement and defeat. Instead, choose to be happy! When you make that choice, you will find that everything in your life starts to look totally different.