Is it possible to ‘think yourself’ happy?
One of the things that people forget, is how much control we have over our own happiness. And this is in large part because of the amount of control we can choose to have over our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. We can choose to think in ways that tend to make us happy, or in ways that tend to make us sad.
To be happy you must be your own sunshine.
~ Charles Edward Jerningham
And, as well as choosing to see the positives in our life, we can think ourselves happy by letting go of things that we cannot change:
Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquillity and outer effectiveness become possible.
~ Epictetus, The Art of Living
In the Christian tradition there is a prayer which I use as a meditation:
Grant me
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference
So today, why not consider the areas of your life that you feel unhappy with, and use the questions below to reflect on them while being mindful of control, acceptance, courage and wisdom – take the first step to ‘thinking yourself’ happy:
1) What things do I have some control over, and what things don’t I have control over?
2) How can I accept and come to terms with the things beyond my control?
3) What can I do differently to change, for the better, the things I do have some control over?
4) How else can I “be my own sunshine”?
What do you think? – share your thoughts on these quotes, and happiness in general – how do you think yourself happy? – it’s great to hear your experiences, and I feature some of them in my newsletters.
Leave a comment here, or email me: Mary@Coach-me-Happy.co.uk