"Happiness is a State of Mind"

I have heard this idea and concept before. It sounded nice. However, it wasn't true for me. Happiness was the result of things going well in my life. I was happy when I was getting along with my husband, when I was at my "perfect" weight, when I had cute clothes to wear, when I liked my haircut, when I had good friends, when I had something "fun" to do, when my house was clean, and when my kids were well behaved. (To name a few) Surprisingly, I wasn't "happy" very often. In my ignorance, I believed that outside influences had something to do with the whole thing! What a giant misconception!
My husband used to tell me, "nobody can 'make' you happy" or "nobody can 'make' you mad!" (This argument usually used in his own defense) "Phewey!" I used to think. You are making me mad right now!! How truly wrong I was.
As life has happened to me over the last few years, I have discovered that the old adage has some clout! You mean I have some control over this? Fascinating! As it turns out, happiness is a choice that I get to make every day. I have found that the strongest tool to have in my toolbox is gratitude. When I become grateful for my life, I am free to be happy.
The next enlightening realization for me was that I had to stop "expecting" my life to turn out a certain way. A wise friend of mine always says, "all frustration stems from unmet expectations." I should expect to have trials, and expect for things not to go as planned. That is life. Now that I know that, I can choose to BE happy because I AM a happy person, not because my life is exactly what I want it to be.
I am going to choose to be happy. I hope you will too!


*I have been interrupted four times since writing this and Rachel and Adam have been given chocolate milk and goldfish crackers for breakfast to keep them quiet.