What are you waiting for? Be Happy Already!

We’ve all done it and we keep on doing it. We keep right on playing the “I’ll be happy when…” game.

It starts young. I remember a kid telling myself at the start of the school year, “I’ll be happy when it’s Halloween and we can dress up and go trick or treating!” Then it was, “I’ll be happy when it’s Christmas and Santa brings me new toys!” Then it was time to be happy when it was spring break, my birthday, summer break, the Fourth of July and the cycle would start all over again.

Happiness was always just the next holiday or school break away.

As I got older happiness was just around the corner ALL the time:

• I’ll be happy after this exam

• I’ll be happy after I lose five pounds

• I’ll be happy after the cute guy in my calculus class asks me out

• I’ll be happy after I get a car

• I’ll be happy after I get the internship

• I’ll be happy after I graduate

• I’ll be happy after I get a great job

• I’ll be happy after I find a great place to live

• I’ll be happy after my boyfriend proposes

• I’ll be happy after the wedding

• I’ll be happy after we close on the house

• I’ll be happy after I get into grad school

• I’ll be happy after I get pregnant

• I’ll be happy after the baby finally sleeps through the night

• I’ll be happy when we can go on vacation

• I’ll be happy when this project is over

• I’ll be happy after I retire

And on and on it goes and we continue to play the game of “I’ll be happy when/after…”

No one ever says they’ll be happy when they die. In fact, in the book, “The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying,” the number five regret was “I wish I would have let myself be happier.”

Turns out, we can let ourselves be happier. We can simply stop chasing happiness.

Happiness is an inside job and we don’t have to wait for something to happen to be happy. We get to be happy simply by choosing to be happy. Happiness comes from the INSIDE, not because of anything going on outside.

Now anytime I want to be happy, I can be, regardless of what is going on around me. I simply choose happiness from within rather than waiting for circumstances outside of me to change. I’ll smile whenever everyone around me is miserable. They ask why I’m so happy. When I say I just choose to be and it is as simple as that, it drives them CRAZY! It couldn’t be so easy. Except that it is!

THE TAKEAWAY

Decide you are going to be happy now, not after something in the future. It really is that simple!