Each of us has the power to choose to be happy everyday yet many of us are still unhappy. We tell ourselves, I’ll be happy when I get a new job, or I get a better partner, or I get the bills paid off, or when I retire, or when. . . .and so on. You can see the pattern. Living this way puts happiness in the future. This is a problem because when we get the new job we don’t tend to be satisfied, instead we look for the next reason to be happy. The truth is that we only live in the present moment, the past is over and the future has yet to come. This is the moment in which we have the power to choose happiness.
Another thing that we humans do to steal our happiness is to put conditions on our happiness. If my spouse or boss was nicer I would be happy. Net zero happy people. These conditions take our power away. We can’t control people, places or things. Waiting on the conditions to be perfect in order to be happy makes us victims of circumstances. Empower yourself! You have the power to change the way you perceive situations. Instead tell yourself it is a bummer that my spouse or boss is in a bad mood. I choose to be happy so at least one of us is happy. Net one happy person. Perhaps my joy will help him/her out of her /his bad mood. Net two happy people.
True happiness takes practice because, as Rick Hanson tell us, we are hardwired to see the negative. One tool to use to help train (rewire) your brain for happiness is to think of something that brings you joy every morning when you awake. When you find the thoughts that make you happy, think about them for three to five minutes. Return to your joyful thoughts periodically throughout the day. At night, before you go to sleep, recall moments in the day that brought you pleasure. These are everyday events like a beautiful rainbow, blue sky after a rain, a happy greeting from your dog, a walk with a friend, reading a good book, etc. The more often you think happy thoughts the more rewiring happens making it easier to see the joy in everyday events.