Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. ~Mildred Barthel (http://quotegarden.com/happiness.html)
Each student is different in how they react to final exams. When finals week approach, I usually get anxious because I worry about good grades. One day around my finals week, a little three year old girl, Callie posed me an interesting question: “Erika, are you mad or happy?” She asked if I am mad because the notion of stress is not part of her vocabulary yet. It dawn on me that my tense mood that is carried from my personal life into my work is greatly perceptible and affects negatively everyone around me. The choice to become miserable or happy the whole day lies in my hands. Happiness is an emotional attitude that may be chosen.
- Make the happiness choice. If you get flat tire or someone cuts you off in traffic, are you going to curse or smile? If you have an approaching stressful event, will you embrace a negative or positive mood? We may not be able to avoid stressful situations, yet we are able to choose how to respond to them.
- Make someone else happy. Good spirits are transmissible. If you are happy, you will find people around you sharing the same mood. If you are kind in top of that, you will feel happier. Invite a friend for a dinner or offer to help with something. Notice the positive feedback you get.
- Enjoy each moment of your life as life is short. We are so pressured with everyday life that we forget to enjoy small things like smelling flowers or watch the nature. Callie reminds me every day to relish and appreciate the moment. Whether you are playing with your children, or having lunch with a colleague, ask yourself: “What do I want to remember about this day?” I personally want to reach late adulthood with a good sense of life satisfaction and happy memories.
We must choose to see the positive sides of the events. Life gives us a lot of opportunities to be happy about, yet most of us do not realize it. Do not rely on happiness to come to you.