What If Happiness Is More of a Choice Than You Think?
This week’s impactful quote is, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
Although social media generally attributes this to Abraham Lincoln, there is some debate about whether or not he actually said it. In fact, according to the website Quote Investigator, “This popular Internet quotation is usually attributed to Lincoln. It doesn’t sound like him, however, and no evidence has been offered that he ever said or wrote this.” To read a more complete background of this quote, read here.
You know, Lincoln said and did a lot of great things in his life, and whether or not he ever really said these words is fairly irrelevant. The truth in this statement is what really matters, and what makes it impactful for me.
Your happiness is up to you. NOBODY can make you unhappy unless you let them. And the sooner you realize this, the happier you’ll start to be. Regardless of what happens to you, if you make up your mind to be happy, you will be. If you truly want to be happy, nothing can get in your way. Think of Wonder Woman deflecting bullets with her bracelets.
You know, we all have negative, miserable people in our lives, and I certainly hope you’re not one of them. But guess what, they chose to be that way. And it’s your choice whether or not you want to be like them or go down a different path.
Now I don’t know anyone who is happy all of the time, and to be honest, that kind of person may be as annoying as the person who is unhappy all of the time, but you can make the decision to be happier than you are, and you can make it immediately.
So what can you do to bring more happiness into your life? I’m going to suggest a few strategies and then ask you to share your thoughts below.
First, identify the things in your life that are making you unhappy. Is it your job, your spouse, your kids, the economy, the world we live in today- what is it? Do you have the ability to change it for the better? If so, do it. If not, let it go.
Why are you wasting your positive energy on something you have no control over? Do you think you can change someone from a negative, miserable person into someone who’s a joy to be around? Good luck with that. Do you think you can control the weather, the traffic, the economy, politicians? Once you begin to focus on things that you can control and let the rest go, your stress level will decrease immediately.
Second, start giving thanks. Be grateful for all of the good things you have. Write them down and review them from time to time. Some experts recommend doing this daily. Add to your list frequently. Sometimes you need to remind yourself of how good your life really is.
Rather than dwelling on what you’re missing, or what’s going wrong in your life, spend some time reviewing all the good things. What are some of your happiest moments? What are some things you’re proud of? What have you overcome? What are your best traits or skills? There’s a reason that therapists, counselors, and life coaches all recommend journaling. If you’re not sure where to start, a gratitude or blessings list is a good place.
Third, proactively bring more positivity into your life. I’ve talked about this in some of my other posts, but we live in an incredibly negative world. The best thing you can do if you want to be happier is reduce or eliminate negative vibes and seek out more positive messages. The Law of Attraction says that you get back what you put out to the Universe. What are you attracting? If it’s not what you want, take a good look at what you’re putting out there.
Fourth, refuse to participate in someone else’s misery. It’s perfectly acceptable to show empathy and be a good listener, but you don’t have to let that negatively impact your own life. Be a good friend, or parent or co-worker, but at the end of the conversation, realize that their problems do not have to become your problems unless you let them.
Now I’m an idealist, but I’m not naive. I realize that bad things happen. For some of us, they happen much more frequently than for others. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to prevent them from happening. I understand that. But you DO have 100% control over how you react to them, and how much you let it affect you.
So, what’s it going to be? Are you ready to make up your mind to be happy, or would you rather keep letting life get you down? It’s your choice, and nobody can make it for you.
As you go throughout this week, pay close attention to the things that are happening to you and remind yourself that you have made up your mind to be happy and nothing is going to get in your way.
Let me know what you think about this quote, and please share the strategies that you use to bring more joy and happiness into your life. What works for you? What have you tried that didn’t work? We look forward to reading your reactions in the Comments section below.
Make up your mind to have an impact, and you can lead a full life.
Thanks for reading, now go make an impact!