Happiness Is Not a Choice

Happiness is a state of mind

Happiness is a choice. I thought it’s true. That if you want to be happy, just be. That you can be happy just by smiling, laughing when you’re actually not. Until I realized that you can’t force emotion that you don’t feel. You can’t just "be happy" when you just lost your loved one, when you’re afraid, when you’re depressed, when things are going bad. You can’t force yourself to be happy. Happiness is a unique feeling, because it differ from one to another. True happiness comes from within, not something you can summon freely.

Happiness is not a choice, positive thinking is. Positive thinking is different than being optimistic. Positive thinking is a rational thinking process. You can control it, you can practice it, over and over until it becomes a habit. You won’t be immediately happy by being positive, but it will bring you happiness and more as you practice it. You will see the good things in people, in life, in everything. You will start to understand people. Instead of condemning them, you will try to figure out why they do what they do. You start to see the good reasons behind everything. It’s wonderful.
It’s okay to feel sad, to feel afraid, powerless, hopeless, you don’t need to be happy when the time comes. Those feelings are there for a reason.

Everybody in the world is seeking happiness - and there is one sure
way to find it. That is by controlling your thoughts. It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.

But positive and happy mind alone won’t be enough to transform life. Like this milleniums-old quote said:

Happiness is a state of mind. You need to bring your mind closer to the state of happiness which consists of positive thoughts and feelings. We are in control for our own responses to anything, and for our own happiness too. So, next time you have negative thoughts or feelings, try to skip all the negatives, find the positive(s), stick to the positive(s). You have to train it, be accustomed to it. It may take months or even years to train your mind to be positive effortlessly. Nevertheless it’s wonderful.

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