{"id":79731,"date":"2020-03-24T20:38:06","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T04:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=79731"},"modified":"2020-03-29T17:48:12","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T01:48:12","slug":"why-happiness-is-just-a-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/why-happiness-is-just-a-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Happiness IS Just a Choice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When I was a kid, people would ask, \u201cWhat do you want to be when you grow up?\u201d My response was: \u201cHappy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cNo,\u201d they would say, \u201cWhat do you want to be<\/em>?\nYou know like Doctor? Lawyer?\u201d My response was, \u201cBe happy!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently,\nthis was not the correct response even though it made total sense to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\ngrew up, I tried to get to that place of happy by doing all the things that\nothers said I should do. Beautiful fianc\u00e9. Check. Successful career. Check.\nLiving in a nice place. Check. I had ticked the boxes of what others told me\nwas valuable and would make me happy and yet I was miserable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nhappiness is not the result of getting where others say you should go, then\nwhat IS it? More importantly, how do you find it? With many years of traveling\nthe globe, facilitating classes and meeting lots of unhappy and happy people, I\nhave discovered that HAPPY OR NOT HAPPY IS SIMPLY A CHOICE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone\nhas a story, everyone has things that are tough, and when it comes to being\nhappy and living a satisfied life, those things are irrelevant. You either\nchoose happy or you don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou have been waiting for Mr. or Mrs. Right to show up or counting on winning\nthe lottery or hoping for the stars to somehow align and deliver you the\nperfect life so you can be happy, happiness will always be in the future. If,\nhowever, you acknowledge that happiness is something you can choose to have\nnow, regardless of your present circumstances, then happiness becomes your\ndaily reality. Ready for that reality? Here are my top 10 tools that you can\nuse to assist you with choosing happiness now.
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\n1. Get clear on what you desire<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big part of choosing happiness is\nclarifying what\u2019s true for you. Start to look at what you desire as your life.\nBegin to ask questions such as, \u201cWhat else is possible here that I have not yet\nconsidered?  What things are fun for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, \u201cIf I let go of everyone else\u2019s\nopinions of who I should be and what I should choose, what do I know?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of unhappiness comes from trying\nto live someone else\u2019s life and often we do that because no one tells us we\nactually have choice. But you do <\/em>have choice and that choice changes\neverything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Start\na create list <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many\npeople have wish lists. Things they wish to occur in their lives. The problem\nwith wish lists is they keep you always in a state of waiting rather than a\nstate of creating. Throw out the wish list and start a create list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wake\nup every morning and ask, \u201cWhat action can I take today to create what I desire\nright away?\u201d This is how you turn that wish list into a create list and start\nbecoming empowered to have whatever you desire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.\nDon\u2019t take on other people\u2019s unhappiness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nof the most effective tools to get rid of cranky is a simple little question,\n\u201cWho does this belong to?\u201d Ninety-eight percent of the thoughts, feelings and\nemotions that we experience are not actually ours. We are just aware. We pick\nup on the unhappy of others and buy into the lie that we must be unhappy too.\nThe next time you feel unhappy, ask, \u201cWho does this belong to?\u201d If you start to\nfeel lighter, you are not the unhappy one. Let that unhappy go and find the joy\nof you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.\nChange your mind
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Thoughts,\nfeelings and emotions can change. If you are stuck in the idea that you should\nhave a partner, that you should have a certain amount of money, that your\nfamily should like each other and get along, you don\u2019t have to stay there.\nEvery time you have a thought about how the holidays, or your family \u201cshould\u201d\nbe, stop and say, \u201cInteresting point of view I have that point of view.\u201d Say it\na few times. What starts to happen is that all of the places where you are judging\nyou or your circumstances become simply interesting points of view rather than\ntruth. And, when something is just interesting, it can be changed. If you\ndidn\u2019t have any points of view of how the holidays were supposed to be, or how\nyour family was supposed to be, you could have fun no matter what. Change your\nmind, change your experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. <\/strong>Move your body<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving\nyour body changes the physiology of your body. It releases endorphins and can\ndramatically change the way you feel. For 20 \u2013 30 minutes (ok, even 10 minutes a\nday) every day, get up and move. Jog. Dance. Go for a walk. Doesn\u2019t matter how\nyou move. Just move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. <\/strong>Start every day with asking\nquestions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you ever wake up feeling less than happy, ask a question.\nAsking questions can empower you to change anything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some questions you can ask: <\/p>\n\n\n\n