Epiphany: Happiness is a choice.
#dearself is a series of blog posts written to my past, present, or future self. I hope you can find a lesson or gentle reminder in this personal note that you can apply to your life as well.
Dear Self,
Are you happy? You have asked yourself this question so many times throughout your life. Whenever people asked you where you envisioned your life in the future, your answer always included that you wanted “to be happy.” If someone asked you right now where you want to be five, ten, or twenty years from now, “being happy” would definitely make the list. Sure, it’s a common goal. Then again, who would not want to be happy in this life?
I am OK with you leaving happiness on your list of goals as long as you promise me to remember one important thing—happiness is a choice, not a chase.
There were so many times when you didn’t feel happy. It was sad for me to watch you become increasingly frustrated with not “feeling” happy because happiness is just that—a feeling.
The “feeling” came and went and the other feeling called blah came and went too. I cannot even tell you how many hours, days, weeks, and even months you spent trying to figure out what would make you happy. At times you looked like a deflated happy birthday balloon struggling to hold on to helium. You smiled and wished that people could not detect how frustrated or unhappy you were, but I know you and I knew better.
Yet, look at you now. Time taught you what I and life were trying to teach you all along—happiness is a choice, not a chase. You were quite hardheaded at times, but you slowly started to learn that you can bring happiness into your life instead of waiting for it to come knocking on your door.
Please do me a favor…
Do not go back to being a hoarder of stress. I am going to need you to eliminate the joy killers in your life one by one. Do not think for one second that you are going to just coast through life and stumble upon happiness. You are going to need to work on this thing!
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