Happiness Is a Choice

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When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I’ve always liked that saying. But what if you don’t have any sugar? For some people it’s more difficult to find the silver lining, to think positively, to turn the negative into the positive. That person was once me. I would turn a bad situation into a worse one. I would take sadness to another level. If someone even mentioned a silver lining I would cringe. For every positive thing you tried to get me to see, I could give you 10 negatives. One day I realized the toll that this kind of thinking was taking on my life.

After having kids you begin to see yourself in a different way, because much of your attitude and traits can be seen in your children. They pick up these things from us and we cannot deny it. I began seeing my toddler, display bouts of sadness, and temper tantrums that reminded me of myself. I saw anger and rage and when I made the connection to where she could be getting it from, I realized that if I did not change my attitude and behavior I was setting up my child for a long miserable road ahead. I also began to see how my body was responding to this constant negativity. I struggled with depression, anxiety, weight gain, high blood pressure and lethargy.

It was time for a change, and one day I realized that it was just as simple as making a choice. In every single moment in life you have a choice, big ones and little ones. The little ones we rarely think about, and do them almost on automatically. One of those tiny seemingly insignificant choices is happiness.

When something goes wrong, or someone does something that makes us feel powerless in the situation, you are not powerless. You have a choice about how you will respond, and what you will think. Many times your response to the situation can even turn it around in your favor. Psalms 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the LORD: and he shall give you the desires of your heart.” It may seem like you are giving up your control to someone else, but it is the exact opposite; by deciding how you will feel you have taken control. You do not have to give another person or situation the power to determine your mood, or feelings. Only you can decide that.

By practicing this, I’ve consistently remained positive and maintain a healthier lifestyle. The things I complained about before I now embrace as the challenges they are and the purpose they serve, which is to strengthen me in different areas of my life.

What things do you allow to determine your mood?

Who determines your happiness?

Do you have the power to control your thoughts in a difficult situation?

How can you choose happiness in difficult situation?

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Contributed by Daily Dose weekly contributor: Chaun Archer

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