I firmly believe that we choose whether or not to be happy. I am not saying that I always feel like this is true. Sometimes I, like anyone else, feel that life is throwing too many bad things my way and it’s impossible to be happy in the midst of all of it. Sometimes I, like anyone else, feel that if only certain people in my life would do certain things differently then I could be happier.

But these are just feelings. Emotions. When I can clear away the emotional reaction that I’m having to things, my honest underlying belief is that we can choose to be happy no matter what circumstances we are facing. Of course, this requires will power and a strong commitment to maintaining our own peace of mind. It requires inner strength. But isn’t being happy worth what it takes to develop those skills? I think so.

I wrote an article over at Helium about this topic – learning to stay happy despite what’s going on in your life. It’s a short article that doesn’t cover the entire breadth of this big subject but it focuses on the key thing that I think is important for a happy life which is learning to get control over your own thoughts so that you can develop peace of mind.

Tags: emotions, feelings, happiness, peace of mind, wellness