Happiness Is a Decision!

The happiness experts state that we can become happier if we engage in certain activities (e.g. socializing, being thankful, experimenting new things, etc.).  But engaging in particular activities doesn’t seem to be enough.  Researchers have found that a person must also have a “will” to be happier.  A person must decide to be happy in order to increase their happiness level.   How does one decide to be happy even when the world is crashing down around them?  When it’s my turn to face hardship, I say to myself, “I have two choices:  I can decide to be happy and overcome this or I can decide to do nothing and simply bear this.”  I typically or eventually decide that I will make the best of the situation.

Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, J. K., & Sheldon, K. M. (April 01, 2011). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: An experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being. Emotion, 11, 2, 391-402.