Article by Susan Russo

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” -Dale Carnegie

I was talking with my girlfriend the other day and we were discussing how draining the stresses of life can be and how overwhelming it can feel at times. And, to compound things, it never seems to be just one thing; it’s the combination of issues, I call it the Pu Pu Platter of life.

For many people it’s either finances or relationships. Pick one. Or maybe pick two or three; kids, job, anger, jealousy, love, money, weight, getting older, losing your hair, losing your mind, losing hope, losing desire and worse yet losing your happiness.

We walk around thinking, if only I had more money, or a better relationship, or any relationship, or if only I didn’t have to feel this way, or if this didn’t happen I would be happy, or when I have this or that I will be happy, or if I didn’t have to worry about this or that I would have peace.

Waiting to be happy only if and when something happens is setting yourself up to be unhappy because in the meantime while you’re waiting for things to change; you still have to live your life.

So you can wait to be happy when you have more money, or when you meet someone, or when you find a new job, or when your kids change, or when your partner changes, or when you get over whatever it is your aren’t over. Or, you can CHOOSE to be happy right now while you’re waiting.

What if what you are waiting for never happens? What if you don’t get the job, you lose your relationship, your kids don’t change, you don’t lose weight and your hair doesn’t grow back? Then what are you going to do?

Look, we all know that sometimes life doesn’t work out quite the way we planned it to. But, just because things don’t work out the way you want doesn’t mean that you can’t go on to have a great life.

When you begin to realize that happiness is a choice you can drop the victim mentality, lose the poor-me-my-life-is-so-bad attitude and simply choose to be happy from this point forward. Happiness is a state of mind.

Learn to focus on what you do have in your life to be thankful for instead of keeping your mind on what you don’t have. Learn to live in the presence of whatever you believe to be God and know that all of the fear and worry and anxiety can be wiped out when you have faith that everything always work out in the end.

What will make you happy is choosing to look at what is right instead of looking at what is wrong or helping someone else in some small way instead of making it all about you. And more importantly, knowing that there isn’t anyone or anything outside of yourself that can make you happy; happiness is a choice.

About the Author

If you want to learn more about how to take back control of your life check out Susan’s site. Susan’s books and coaching have helped people from around the world discover that keys to unlock themselves from a self-imposed prison. It’s worth finding the “real” you! By the way, Susan even offers a free consultation with any book purchased.

Use and distribution of this article is subject to our Publisher Guidelines
whereby the original author’s information and copyright must be included.

Related Happiness Articles

Think Happy Now
Created By World Renowned Hypnotherapist Steve G. Jones, Think Happy Now Is Designed To Help You Create Happiness In Your Life. This Is An Audio Program Consisting Of 4 Modules And A Self Hypnosis Session.
Think Happy Now

Habit Guide: How To Be Happy & Healthy
Habit Guide Is How To Be Happy And Healthy – Just The Facts. Everything You Need In One Place. Short, Powerful And Effective…
Habit Guide: How To Be Happy & Healthy