Choose to be Happy
Has it ever occur to you that we don't exercise the choice to be happy very often? How we feel tends to be a function of our circumstances. If we're going through good times, we feel happy. If not, then the reverse is true. But we do see those who're happy despite going through adversities. And unless they're crazy or delirious, then they must have decided to feel happy.
How do they do it? From what I can see, the answer runs the gamut from giving in to fighting on. Either way, the consequence is they're happy or at least happier than before. For those who throw in the towel, they no longer feel the need to fight their situation. There's a calmness that comes from not caring and being bothered anymore. They know that worrying will not solve anything. But instead of focusing on what needs to be done, they simply throw up their hands and quit.
For others who refuse to bow to their circumstances, they have a conviction that their situation is transient. That what they need to do is to steel themselves and press on. They know that "this too will pass", as has happened before. They take comfort in the light at the end of the tunnel and they believe that they will come out of their circumstances a better person.
Personally, I want to be the second kind of person. I want to have the strength of character to weather storms and survive difficulties. No one ever said that life was a bed of roses and bad things that happen give us a chance to grow and mature. We need the right perspective though. If we go through our situation resenting it and never letting it go after it has passed its time and place in our lives, then we risk being bitter. Bitterness can cast a long shadow in your life if you don't let it go. I don't think I need to elaborate on what it can do to you, right?
How do they do it? From what I can see, the answer runs the gamut from giving in to fighting on. Either way, the consequence is they're happy or at least happier than before. For those who throw in the towel, they no longer feel the need to fight their situation. There's a calmness that comes from not caring and being bothered anymore. They know that worrying will not solve anything. But instead of focusing on what needs to be done, they simply throw up their hands and quit.
For others who refuse to bow to their circumstances, they have a conviction that their situation is transient. That what they need to do is to steel themselves and press on. They know that "this too will pass", as has happened before. They take comfort in the light at the end of the tunnel and they believe that they will come out of their circumstances a better person.
Personally, I want to be the second kind of person. I want to have the strength of character to weather storms and survive difficulties. No one ever said that life was a bed of roses and bad things that happen give us a chance to grow and mature. We need the right perspective though. If we go through our situation resenting it and never letting it go after it has passed its time and place in our lives, then we risk being bitter. Bitterness can cast a long shadow in your life if you don't let it go. I don't think I need to elaborate on what it can do to you, right?
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