Are You Just Happy All Of The Time?
I remember once someone asking me “Are you just happy all of the time?” The comment caught me off guard because, at that time, fifteen or more years ago, I was struggling with alot on my plate and if someone had just straight up asked me if I thought my life was a happy one I may have had to think long and hard before I answered. But this was a different kind of question. Was I happy all of the time. That answer was easy and immediate, YES!! For the most part I am happy all of the time. Doesn’t mean that my life’s journey has always been a happy one, I’ve had ups and downs just like everyone else. But I strive to be happy every day, no matter what is happening around me.
So when I saw the above picture on social media the other day it caught my attention. I read over the 7 Quick Tips for Happiness and thanked my lucky stars that I was raised by a mother who also chose to be happy every day as well as a grandmother who lived by these seven items even though she was born in 1910, long before the list would have showed up on social media. My gratitude for the women who raised me is very deep. From a very early age I was taught that your attitude is everything in life. Whether it was that tough love phrase that all of us born in the GenX generation heard “Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about” or my grandmother’s motto “Keep your peace.” either way I learned that how I managed my emotions, my attitude, played a significant role in how I perceived my life. That’s the key word there, perceived. No one’s life is perfect. Everyone has struggles, but how you perceive your life is the key to your own happiness.
These seven tips really are the key to happiness. You don’t need me to explain these things to you, they are all pretty self explanatory and who wants a preachy female telling them how to live anyway! Right? But what I will tell you is that I have applied all of these things in my life, on a daily basis. Some I excel at, like ignoring what people say about me. Others I struggle with, the letting go of things. My brain is wired to overthink everything! But it doesn’t matter that I’m not perfect at all seven of them. What matters is that I try every day to achieve them and because of that I am happy all the time, I truly am!
I want to share a quote with you that I found twenty years ago. I think it goes well with these seven tips that just appeared to me this week. The quote I keep taped to my wall where I can read it all of the time. Maybe you will find it beneficial as well.
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important then the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church or a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our Attitudes. ~ Charles Swindoll
Have a great day! Be Happy!