The power of choosing happiness

Sully and I went to Costco yesterday to fill our gas tanks, get a pepperoni pizza from the food court (OMG, so yummy!), and a few other essentials (like walleye, vodka, and probiotics, LOL).

While we were searching for the ranch dressing we ran into a friend who just retired.

It was so great to see her and catch up for a second. 

We told her about our upcoming trip to the Gorge to see Brandi Carlile and the Highwomen and she mentioned that she just wants to be happy now that she’s retired.

And I totally get that.

Sometimes the next right thing is to leave the job, make friends, or get back to doing some cardio and having smaller servings of nightly ice cream.

Pay attention to what your brain is telling you.

Is it telling you that you’ll be happy when you leave the job, when you have more friends to hang out with, or when you lose weight and eat better?

If your happiness is contingent on outside circumstances, stop, and see it for the lie that it is.

You do not need one damn thing outside of yourself to be happy because it is a choice.

It’s a state of being not dependent on what does or doesn’t happen in your life.

And the more you think happiness is determined by what happens to you and not how you show up to the situation, you’ll always be tossed around by the inevitable ups and downs of life.

Our friend could make the decision to be happy in her life right there in the cereal aisle of Costco.

And keep making that decision, over and over and over.

Recently a client asked me if I was a happy kid because she said I always seem so positive.

I was a happy kid until shit started hitting the fan at home and then I let some of my inner joy get covered up by crappy thoughts until I remembered this truth, put in the effort to change my thoughts, feelings, and actions, and now my inner joy meter is humming at a super high speed most of the time.

It’s humming so loudly and highly because I remembered that we are here to experience joy and all the amazing things that make life so rich.

Every day, all day isn’t rainbows and butterflies because I’m a human, living with another human and 2 dogs, and I have a human body and a home and car that present challenges, etc.

But I keep making the choice to show up with joy in my heart, I don’t add to my suffering, and trust that I can handle and get through what shows up in my life.

This has to come from the inside!

No one is responsible for giving it to you and it will never come from a new outfit, drink, extra pint of ice cream, surgical procedure, or significant other. 

Those things can add sprinkles to the cupcake but you have to bake the damn thing yourself.

Don’t complicate this.

Choose joy and happiness as your main undercurrent as you navigate life.

You got this, Sunshine and I’ve ALWAYS got your back!