Everyday Life and Happiness

Many of us spend our lives in a perpetual state of waiting for happiness.

We never allow ourselves to be happy until we reach a specific milestone.

We say that we can finally be happy with ourselves and everything around us when…

• My credit cards are finally paid off…
• I get that promotion at work…
• I make that first sale
• I get married and settle down…
• I have children
• I lose weight

The list could go on and on…I find myself doing this with my money and my weight all the time. I keep thinking I will finally be happy once I lose 100#’s and get back that body I used to have when I was a teenager. I find myself dreaming of the day when our debts are paid and we can finally breathe again…that THEN I can finally be happy.

So, we begin the cycle of perpetual waiting. We are in a happiness holding pattern…the weight doesn’t come off and the bills begin to roll in. This is the time that I begin to feel like a failure. Almost like I’m walking up hill through sand…3 steps forward but 4 steps back. I can’t be happy till’ these things are done…but these things can’t get done because I’m not happy…I feel like no matter what I do I’ll never be happy. I am hanging my happiness on all of these “when” situations.

But what I am really doing is lying to myself.

Do I really need to wait for all the stars to align and everything in my life to be a certain way for me to feel happiness?

That answer is a HUGE NO.

Think about it…have you ever set a goal for yourself that you thought was outrageous? Maybe you even believed it wasn’t possible for you to achieve it? You know…one of those “if I get I will FINALLY be happy” things. Here’s an example from my own life.

I wanted an office. I had been with my company for 10 years the and I craved finally someday having an office. Okay…yes…I blame this on watching Working Girl way too many times in my youth   So, for years I did my work all with the end result of getting an office. I worked late…I came in early…you name it.

After much hard work the day came that I finally got it. (yes I had my Melanie Griffith moment when I called my husband to ask him if he could guess where I was calling him from…)

For the first few days, I was on cloud nine. There was a spring in my step and a smile on my face. I WAS HAPPY! After all I’d achieved exactly what I set out to do…the thing that I said would finally make me happy, right? That was until the novelty wore off and the work came piling in and I was right back to being miserable again.

So, what happened???

What happened was that I hung my hat on believing that a “thing” was going to finally make me happy. What I failed to realize at that point (which I realize now) is that there is only one thing on this Earth that can make you happy…YOU. Happiness isn’t something that you are going to get just from achieving a specific goal you have set for yourself. It is something that you DECIDE.

Yea, I said just decide.

Now you may be thinking, “Julie…you’re crazy! You can’t just DECIDE to be happy…can you?”

Yes…yes you can. Being happy is literally just a thought away. It is all what you choose to put your focus on.

Wanna give it a try?

Just for today – find the blessing in EVERYTHING. Kids screaming at each other? Focus on how they are GOD’s gift to you and how blessed you are to have them. Get into a car accident? Focus on how you are truly blessed that you aren’t seriously hurt. EVERYTHING has a blessing…you just need to ask yourself what that blessing in every situation is.

So today find the blessing in all things and let me know how you did.

Today – I am blessed to have all of you in my life!