Finding Happiness

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.
- Agnes Repplier

Saw this quote this morning and loved it! This is a lesson I have learned very clearly in the last few years. Our happiness is inside us, and only we can choose to bring it out and enjoy it.

Have you ever seen someone living in miserable circumstances who was happy? Have you ever felt happy even when things weren't going so great?

Have you ever been unhappy when your life appeared to be great? Have you ever seen someone who "has it all" who is unhappy?

I'm not telling you that you will never experience sadness, or that even that you shouldn't. What I am saying is that you can choose how you react to the situations in your life. I find that our unhappiness is often caused by the way we react to the people and circumstances in our life.

Think about it.

If I am stuck in a traffic jam I can be angry and fume about how I'm wasting time or that I'm going to be late. OR I can be grateful that I have a few minutes to myself, then use that time to day dream, plan, think, or just be still and quiet.

If I am miserable in my job I can keep going to work and grousing about it or I can do something different. I can talk to my boss about other options, I can learn some new skills to expand my options, I can start a little business on the side that I enjoy (and as it grows it can make me less reliant on my job).

So, are you happy? If not, what's the source of your unhappiness? What step can you take to move toward happiness?

If you are already happy I invite you to share your joy with someone else today.