The Myth of Happiness

 

Usually I start off each of my blogs with an anecdote from my own life that helps introduce the topic for the week. This week is different and I am going to just get straight to the point. The only person in control of your happiness is you. Sure, there may be a lot of external factors that help get you in the mood, but the reality is that there is no single external force that can make you happy if you don't want to be happy. It's like the Selfless Good Deed episode of Friends. You can try all you want to spin it, but in the end, only you have the ability to make the decision to find your own happiness.

I think we all spend a great deal of time discussing all of the variables that need to be in place for us to be happy, but to be honest, that is just a weak attempt at deluding ourselves into thinking that the conditions have to be optimal for us to experience happiness. If we are being completely honest with ourselves, there are rarely times that everything is in perfect order that meet our requirements for happiness, yet we all experience it at regular times. So what is the deal?

The deal is that we have a choice regarding how we are going to look at the world regardless of the circumstances we face. You become what you constantly think about, so choosing to be mindful of your thoughts on a regular basis is a contributing factor to how you present yourself to others. It's not a perfect science, but there are enough anecdotal examples around you everyday that demonstrate this line of thinking is true. The world IS NOT always sunshine and rainbows and no one is happy all the time. There are, however, people in this world who choose to look at the brighter side of things when they are going through difficult times rather than letting everything weigh them down and make them miserable. These are not silver lining people, but rather, these are people who don't want to feel yucky all the time, so they make a concerted effort to change their attitude to happiness and gratitude. We all have to go through the storm to reach the rainbow, but we don't need to curse the world like Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump in order to get to the other side. 

So here is your opportunity. You can wait for the conditions to be just right and put your happiness in the hands of others or you can finally to decide to take control of the wheel and drive your own happiness. One choice is clearly better than the other, but that decision is up to you. You can keep following the myth of happiness or you can create your own. Personally, when it's my mental health and well-being that is on the line, I want to be driving.

#OwnYourEpic #Connect

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