Welcome To The Choosing Happiness Crusade!
Happiness is something we all strive for in our lives – and something that eludes too many of us. Would you like to learn the secrets of leading a happier life?
Best-selling publisher Linda Joy has invited me to share my thoughts on how to live a happy life in spite of life’s messiness as she celebrates the release of her new book, !
Choosing Happiness features the soul-inspiring stories of 27 amazing women who share their intimate stories of transformation, along with Reflection Questions that empower you to integrate the vital lessons of each woman’s journey into your own life. For a limited time, you’ll even receive over 40 transnational gifts when you pick up your copy of Linda’s book.
Now I’d like to share a little about my journey and what I’ve learned about living a happier life!
Happiness Is A Choice – Choose Happiness Today!
Once upon a time I believed that happiness stemmed from the good things in our lives. Like many people, I didn’t realize I held this belief – but that was how I emotionally responded to life.
When times were good – when I possessed those things in life I thought would make me happy – I felt good inside. When I lacked the things I thought were essential to my well-being – I felt unhappy, to put it mildly.
And then, life happened. I experienced a series of debilitating losses – events beyond my control – that tested everything I ever believed in.
In order to survive these events and regain my joy, I had to challenge my beliefs, change my perspective, and begin responding to the ups and downs of life in a whole new way. Change is never easy, but the ability to change is an essential part of life. Here’s what I learned about happiness in the process:
- First and foremost – happiness is a choice. It’s a mindset we adopt based on our attitude and outlook on life. Our happiness does not depend on our external circumstances. When we base our happiness on circumstances we cannot control – on people we cannot rely upon – on things that can be lost or taken away – we build our houses upon sand.
- Good things and bad things don’t exist in a bubble. Adversity and joy co-exist simultaneously in our lives. Only you can choose which one you will focus on in any given moment. Focusing on joy doesn’t make adversity go away – but it helps you to carve a path through it.
- We cannot place our happiness in other people’s hands – it’s up to us to be the authors and owners of our joy. We need to learn how to pick ourselves up when things do not go our way and to find our way back to a place of happiness when bad things happen to us.
How do you regain your joy and maintain it on a daily basis? Here are a few tips that have proven invaluable in to me!
- Guard your heart. Surround yourself with positive people, books and places. Remove toxic people from your life.
- Keep a happiness jar! On an ongoing basis, fill it with those things that make you happy – things you enjoy doing – on a regular basis. When you are in need of a pick-me-up, go to your jar and start doing those things that will lift your spirit!
- Start a gratitude journal. Each day, write down a few things that you are grateful for, Few things have the power to change your perspective on life as much as this simple but powerful practice.
- Incorporate time-tested spiritual principles into your life. One of my favorite passage in the Bible is Philippians 4:8-9:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
This verse reminds me that I will tend to lead a more peaceful and happier life if I engage in more positive and pleasant thinking!
Now it’s your turn to share your thoughts on happiness!
Please leave a comment about
How you choose happiness in your daily life!
For more information on how women are choosing to live happier lives, be sure to pick up your copy of Linda’s new book, , along with your 40 transformational tools today!
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Sharing my home with cats makes me happy. They set a perfect example of living in the moment.
I couldn’t agree with you more Ellen – sharing one’s home with cats is a great source of happiness and joy!
Thank you for sharing your secret to happiness with us – have a wonderful day!
Very inspirational post! I have to say that I totally agree with you… especially in the fact that it is up to OURselves to make us happy and not the responsibility of any one other human being.
Thanks for the great read.
Hugs,
Jo
♥ Jo’s Scrap Shack ♥
Thank you Jo for stopping by!
These are lessons we are not taught in school but we really need to learn.
That lesson about being responsible for our own happiness is one that’s particularly challenging to embrace!
Here’s to happiness and joy!
I will be sharing this with my daughter who is going through a most challenging time. One phrase I hold on to is “This too shall pass”. Keeping a gratitude journal has helped as well.
Wonderful post!
Thank you Bev for stopping by and for sharing this with your daughter.
I pray that this helps her and that she is able to find her way back to joy even in the midst of life’s challenges.
Have a wonderful week!
It is always good to encourage happiness! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop! Hope you can visit me http://www.over50feeling40.com. Have a great weekend!
I have always believed that happiness is a choice. None of us will have the perfect life and things will not always go smoothly. We can choose how we deal with it however, and that is what makes the difference. I choose happiness! I prefer to be around others who choose happiness as well.
Love this post. So true. I recently wrote something similar about what I learned about pursuing happiness in my journey with depression and ambition. It really is a choice and about perception.
Angela @ Stepping into Motherhood
A wonderful post, my friend.
Where to begin?
I will turn 55 on March 5th.
I have seen and experienced a lot over the years, personal and physical (even being a life long bachelor and even a loner until I bought a computer and went online in 1998), that would probably drag many people down, yet somehow I survived to become the person I am today.
To what do I attribute this?
Faith, curiosity, hard work, the support of some family, and many friends and encouragers, but most of all a peculiar sense of humor and creativity inherited, I think, from my maternal family side.
The last 5 years have not been easy, with unemployment and medical issues, yet I chose to start fresh, in 2012, in Texas.
My ability to remain happy and hopeful, while tested, has remained intact and I have hopes to do more to bring my writing to a wider audience and even earn more of an income from my creativity.
Happiness is a choice and sharing my thoughts on a variety of things, from my personal life to my bike riding, my cats and the world around me has made me happy and brought joy and inspiration to more people than I will ever know.
If you are looking for a way to share your own journey toward happiness may I suggest taking part in something I have done twice before: A daily gratitude challenge on your blog, or Facebook, or in a journal if you don’t have those…
You will laugh and cry as you take the challenge; it will make you think as you ponder what to share and how and affect you in surprising ways.
November 2012 began here: http://www.madmacedonian.com/2012/11/30-days-of-gratitude-writing-challenge-1-a-good-long-soak.html
I had no idea where the experience would lead me and it was quite unexpected. If you decide to take the journey I hope you don’t skip entries along the way.
July 2013 began here: http://www.madmacedonian.com/2013/06/daily-gratitude-writing-challenge-summer-2013-preview.html
A month after completing this journey I wrote an unexpected addendum, the link to which was added as a 2nd update to the final July post.
Dear Kiril,
Thank you so much for your inspiring comment! One of the things I admire most about you is your resiliency in the face of adversity.
We never know why God challenges us with the situations we face – but perhaps it’s to allow us to be a shining beacon for others who need a burst of sunshine and encouragement in their own lives.
Have a wonderful weekend – look forward to the chance to catch up with your creative posts!
That looks like a great book! thanks for recommending it be adding to my to-read list on the Book Nook linkup. Have a great weekend!
Thanks for dropping by Kim! Aren’t books like this inspiring?
For more inspiration, check out the #ChoosingHappiness hashtag on Twitter and other social channels! 🙂
Watching our guys grow into their own person, makes me happy.
They are all different and individual.
What a beautiful expression of happiness Michelle!
I am here surrounded by cats and I know when they are with me, relaxed and calm and happy – that brings me great joy! 🙂
I agree that being happy is a choice. We can choose to get down about things that happen to us or we can be happy and not let the things that happen to us affect us so deeply!
Visiting from SITS thanks for the lovely read!
Great thoughts Nadia – thanks for visiting from SITS!
We should definitely all be able to choose happiness!! thanks for sharing with #readwithme x
My pleasure Chantelle – thanks for joining us and for hosting your party!
I enjoyed reading your personal story of finding joy, and I also really liked the pictures in this post! Thanks for sharing this review at Booknificent Thursday!
Tina