The Pursuit of Happiness

Do we wake up happy or is happiness something we have to cultivate? Many people believe that you’re either born happy or you’re not. I believe happiness is a choice and that you have the ability to create real and lasting happiness for yourself.

At one of my recent women’s wellness events I did an experiment, which I encourage you to try. Start by walking around, avoiding people’s eye contact, imagining everyone is in your way and everything is an obstacle. Walk around with this mentality for a couple of minutes and start to notice the subtle shift in your energy. Do you feel heavier or lighter? Are you happier or has this made you aggravated?

Now, reset and walk around slowly, aiming to be more present. Smile and observe things around you with the knowledge that all of these things you may never see again since everything is temporary. Sit with this feeling of gratitude for the present moment and then observe how you feel. Do you feel uplifted or angry? I bet you feel lighter, more relaxed, and maybe even happier.

In both of these situations you have cultivated your mood and therefore, the experience you’re having. They say the experiencer is the experience. Why? Because two people can be in the same place, same circumstances, same time, but as above, the experiencer has decided on the experience they want to have. In life you will do this either consciously or subconsciously, but the more you are aware of your patterns and behavior, the more you can work to change them and live intentionally.

It’s the same when you wake up in the morning, what’s the first thing you do after you open your eyes? Is it rolling over to check your phone and moaning about all the emails you have to send, or do you pause and smile and acknowledge a new 24 hours of opportunities? They say if you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, then you are already richer than 75% of the world, but often we get so busy with the daily stresses of life we forget the big picture.

Your personal happiness has everything to do with the conscious choices you make and the sincere amount of work you put into living a good life—choosing to flourish, thrive and be cheerful even while you may be living in painful or seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying joyfulness is something that can be obtained every minute and that you will never experience sadness. Life is naturally a course of highs and lows, but we can continually choose to work towards positivity in the midst of difficult times. In fact, countless studies over the years have proved adversity can be good for us if we use it as a catalyst for change, and that tolerating distress can make us resilient and lead us to take action in our lives, such as changing jobs or overcoming hardship. In studies of people with trauma, many describe their experience as a pivotal point for profound change and transformation, leading to “post-traumatic growth.” Have you experienced that? When something happens in your life and you think it’s the end of the world, but you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and look back a year later and can’t believe how that experience propelled you to make a change to where you are now?

So, can you choose happiness? Yes! Does happiness take work? Yes! It takes steady practice and it’s not easy, but you can achieve it. I’m not saying ignore the issues we face, but, think about what works well for you in life, know what satisfies you and what gives you ultimate pleasure and practice it. We all want to be happy, so choose happiness!

Celine Wallace is a New Zealand born Yogi, Lululemon ambassador, wellness expert and writer, and Founder of Sattva Soul transformational women’s events and retreats.