Choose happiness

Photo by anitapeppers on morguefile.com

"Happiness and love are just a choice away." ~Leo Buscaglia

For awhile now, I've watched friends and acquaintances post very pessimistic statements on social media. It's not only depressing to read, but I feel it extends the feelings of hopelessness and sadness to persistently post such negativity. It's ok to feel sad and frustrated about life sometimes. There is also a difference between depression that requires medical intervention and negative thoughts and statements that breed more negativity in a person's life. Everyone goes through difficult experiences. That's part of being human. It's how we choose to react that is the key.

Just the other day, I was feeling overwhelmed at how much there is yet to be done on my home improvement project. I sat down, had a little cry, considered taking the whole day off just to rest, which would have been a perfectly reasonable choice given how hard I've been working so far, but I ended up deciding to modify my plans instead. I painted a few short walls with extended breaks letting things dry. Small progress is still progress, and I'd rather have small progress than none at all.

We each have a choice to make when faced with challenging circumstances. We can choose to remain pessimistic or we can choose to look at life through a different set of lenses. Difficult circumstances do not determine who we are in the world. It's our choices that make a difference. How we choose to react to challenges will shape our character. Do we have the courage and humility to ask for help when we need it? Are we brave enough to choose happiness in spite of our circumstances? We can allow difficulties and challenges to refine us into the strongest, most attractive person we can be. Or we can choose to whine and be a wet blanket to everyone around us. The choice is ultimately ours.

I say, choose happiness.