Happiness is not always a jamboree. Often there are no fireworks or banners, no parade and no band. Sometimes it’s just the fraction of a second it took to stop bemoaning all the little ways that life didn’t go your way today. That’s not to say it’s easy. Happiness is always a choice, simultaneously one of the simplest and most difficult choices you’ll ever make. It’s not complicated. All you have to do is let go of those silly dilemmas that are completely out of your control. You just have to decide to be happy but that means taking ownership of it too. 

Practice makes perfect. One tiny, ordinary moment of self awareness and restraint can set off ripples in life that make the daily slog no slog at all. I talk to my mom on the phone constantly and almost every conversation begins generally the same way. “How was your day?” With a crazier than usual start to my work week, I would normally be inclined to give a disheartened but optimistic response that today wasn’t great but tomorrow will be better. 

But today, even with a few system glitches and a couple new projects to add to my already extensive list, I was happy. It was no different than any other day in the office, putting out figurative fires (thankfully I’ve never been required to put out a literal fire but there’s never a dull moment in a steel mill). One conscious decision to turn a couple of mishaps into a lesson instead of a battle changed my outlook for the entire day. It’s so much easier to stay focused with a good attitude. 

What ripples will you set off in your life?