Why Bother With Happiness?

I’m a big fan of the power we have as human beings to make personal choices. Yes, we all encounter hardships and setbacks in life, but we are not the victims of our circumstances. No one holds us hostage to thinking and acting in certain ways. Instead, by our own volition, we can choose happiness over gloominess, contentment over discontentment, gratitude over entitlement. 

The Daily Matters

Someone once said that what we do every day matters more than what we do every now and then again. If so, then happiness is not a one time choice. Rather, it is a day in and day out commitment to pursue the lighter side to life, an attitude of hopefulness, and a perspective other than gloom and doom.  

Selecting happiness does not mean we deny the hardships in life. It only means we believe we have what it takes to maintain our sense of joy in the midst of life’s mayhem. 

On any given day, my gladness can be squeezed right out of me, if I let it. Whether at work, grocery shopping or driving down the highway, unhappiness, bad news and grumpy people abound. But instead of allowing  circumstances to rob me of my cheerfulness, I engage in my full proof plan of holding my position of uprightness. Not just in the physical sense, but also in the emotional, spiritual, and mental capacity too. 

First, I take a deep breath and smile. Then I look for another face that I can smile at. Since I can only attend to the present moment, smiling into the face of the adversary gives my heart a boost if even for only a second. But that is all it takes to gain a fresh perspective, a new thought, a fresh charge of creativity. My happiness rebounds with a breath and a smile. It is that simple. But it doesn’t end there. 

Maintaining everyday happiness in those stressful moments begins with routines that feed and nourish my joy. The things I do every day, eating good food, getting good rest and exercise, prepare me for those moments in my day when circumstances that may steal my happiness, rise up.

Maintaining our happiness is not a selfish endeavor. Instead, it is a habit that makes us healthy. 

Why bother with happiness? Choose happiness for the health of it.