Exercise Your Happiness

Life is hard. That is a fact. We all have troubles, worries, problems, and complaints. It's how you respond to those things that makes all the difference.
When the dying man can smile, than the healthy man shouldn't be frowning.
Instead of asking "Why me?" maybe we should be asking "Why not me?" Why should we be exempt from all of life's hardships? What makes you so special, that you should never have to deal with trials and struggles? The answer is... Nothing. You aren't special. You aren't exempt. But maybe, just maybe, your struggles are bearable. Maybe the things you find so difficult right now are really nothing more than a passing phase.
In each life there will be burdens to bear, and how you bear them is a sign of character and strength.
Perspective is crucial. While you complain about your food, there is a child starving. While you say you are too tired to move, there is a man learning to walk after losing both legs. While you bitch about your messy husband, there is a woman crying over the grave of hers.
Does this make your suffering any less real? Not at all. But if you were given the troubles of others, you may just ask for your own back.
It's second nature to vent our miseries. We all do it. It's just part of being human. But venting and dwelling are not the same. We vent to get things off our chest, so that we can move past it. People who continually complain about the same things are not venting, they are dwelling. Venters want sympathy, compassion, understanding. Dwellers want pity. And they feed off of that pity, and it grows into more dwelling & misery. We need to stop feeding that beast.
Negativity breeds negativity. If you surround yourself with joyless people, you will spend so much of your energy trying to make them happy, that you will make yourself miserable.
It's time we start choosing happiness. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to bring more positivity into this world. Choosing to let go of people and things that bring us down is not selfish, it is survival. (A very smart friend taught me that.) Your happiness is just as important as anyone else's.
Does this mean you will never be sad, hurt, scared, or angry? No. Those things are part of life, and are unavoidable. But we don't have to dwell on them. Let them be reminders to you to count your blessings. Let them help you grow, and be better, stronger, and wiser.
If you want a happy life, you must practice being happy. You wouldn't go to the gym one time and expect to leave with abs of steel, would you? No. Because you know it takes hard work, sacrifice, and dedication. Happiness is no different. It is something that we must work on all the time. You must exercise your happiness. And sometimes, you may have to fake it. But that's ok. Just put on your best smile and practice, practice, practice. And just like with anything... eventually it will become second nature, and part of your normal routine.

 

 

It is in your power to be happy, if you are just willing to try.