Make happiness your goal! I find strength and support in the idea that we do not need to wait for ideal conditions to experience happiness. I am emphasizing the importance of embracing happiness in the present moment rather than waiting for future conditions to change.

I have endured some health challenges and have had to go through physical therapy. Therapy is still ongoing and has caused me multiple moments of doubt about my capabilities. I was always a go-getter and now I found myself struggling to continue my dream career. I grieved about the loss of my normal range of motion and energy. I had to come to terms with the possibility of gaining back the weight I worked so hard to lose, all because I wasn’t able to exercise like I did prior to my surgery.

Finally, after sharing my dilemma with friends and family and listening to their thoughts, I decided to take control of my emotional well-being by choosing to be happy regardless of my current situation. The principle I focused on linked to the belief that happiness is a choice. This is similar to creating positive habits through mindful actions and attitudes. Why not? Even small examples can be found in your life. I used to hate making my bed every morning. One day, I decided to do one thing daily that made me happy. I didn’t always have time to make my bed, but when I did, I noticed how nice it felt coming home to a pretty bedroom. It felt safe and comfortable. The best part was that my husband started making the bed with me and now it’s part of our routine.

Another beneficial and successful habit we started is getting enough exercise weekly or steps daily. Building habits like these continue to bring us happiness, but finding the time and energy is a choice we had to make.

Making the choice to focus on healthy sleeping habits also may lead to happiness. We started trying to get 6-8 hours of sleep to boost our energy for the next day.

We have learned to be thankful and let others know that we appreciate them. I noticed more positive things in my life and my family. Currently, our next project is to declutter and only keep things that actually make us happy.

We decided to spend time being social. Not that we were not in the past, but we spent too much time volunteering leaving us tired. At the same time, we returned to what we used to love such as being in nature including both our daily walks and hiking.

We started seeing our physician regularly to ensure we were healthy, our dentist for oral care, and our eye doctor for our annual vision check.

The time to be happy is now, and the place to be happy is here.

Happiness is not dependent on external circumstances but can be found in the current moment. The power of choices in achieving happiness is real. It encouraged me to find joy and contentment in my current circumstances rather than waiting for future events to bring me happiness. I started exercising both my arms on days I am not in physical therapy. I incorporated leg days on days I have had physical therapy. All of these were choices that I had to make, and all of them resulted in greater levels of happiness on a consistent basis. Well worth it!