Color Your Life Happy

I was listening to a friend lament a string of problems when I realized that not one of the things she saw as problems were really critical.

When I asked her to tell me about the good things that were going on in her life she was taken aback.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, let me see, ” I began. “You have a loving husband, you’re doing the work you love, you live in beautiful home, you can afford to travel wherever you want on vacation and you have raised two successful children.”

Not only do we get caught up in recounting our “problems”, but I think we actually enjoy sharing the negative more than rejoicing in the positive.

Where does this come from and how do we learn to embrace happiness?

Some of us think that dwelling on happy thoughts will jinx us.

My sister-in-law thought I was doing just that when each year in my Christmas letter I highlight the positive things that happened during the year.

Then there are some who believe that focusing on happiness is a form of denial.

Many aren’t enjoying our happiness because we have an aversion to it. Many of us were brought up to mistrust happiness and to avoid embracing it for fear it will disappear. Sadly, this makes us more comfortable with the miserable things around us than with all the wonderful things in our lives.

Becoming conscious of our attitude toward happiness and keeping our well-being separate from events around us is the key to embracing happiness.

Do you embrace happiness or fear it?