Last week my husband and I were talking about being happy. Something we saw on television triggered the discussion and for the life of me I don't remember what it was just that it got us talking about being happy. We both realized at the moment that we are happy people. We aren't working at being happy but working on staying happy.
There is a big difference trying to be happy and actually working to stay happy. Happy is a place for many is a hard place to get to. We as humans, I believe are pessimistic. It is our nature to see things half empty rather than half full. We take so much of what happens in our lives to heart and allow ourselves often times to forget about the good things and focus on the bad.
My hubby and realized we have stopped working towards being happy because happiness seems to have happen. I had comment that it had been a long time since I thought “what would make me happy” and started focusing on things I enjoy in my life. Happiness seemed to happen for us and truthfully I can't pinpoint the exact moment because it just seemed to evolve in to it.
I noticed because I seemed happier, my husband did as well as both the kids. We joke that the phrase “Happy Wife, Happy Life” seems to be out motto around here. I admit that I am the center and stable part of this family so if I wobble a bit, the rest of the seems to as well. I notice it the times when I feel stressed out or that time of the month (I will admit that I am like a possessed demon).
I am not happy all the time but I am most of the time. I found a groove in my life where I am happy. Shortly after I stopped working, numerous friends commented that this seemed the best fit for me and I was made to do this. I took it as a compliment and embraced all of the different sides of myself.
Getting to this place of happy wasn't easy and yes it was lots of work but wiping away those negative things in my life that I stressed about and finding that most of them were unimportant in reality. I read lot about being happy and thought to myself that I need a mantra to live by. I try each day to teach myself something and expand myself.
The mantra I worked hard at is as follows:
Continuous learning and growth are essential for helping to define one’s self and it is important to achieve success that gives happiness with the internal things rather than the external ones.
I know not each day is peaches and cream because if it was I would get way to fat. I know that each day is a project I need to work on to built up. I know that there will be highs and lows but the most important thing is to have a stability. We never know what will be thrown at us in our lives and even when it is horrible, I know that we will come through it.
I have no great secret to happiness other than I just took a look at my life to see what made me happy and unhappy. I worked at eliminating or limiting the unhappy things while also working on adding in the things that do make you happy. Once I started down this path, so much good has happen plus I have worked at dealing with the bad way better!
Rebecca Benson is a League City stay at home mom who has lived here since 2003 when her husband took a job on the International Space Station program. She followed soon after working on the same program for nearly six years when she started staying home with the kids. Rebecca loves to craft, scrapbook, sew, and embrace motherhood. Rebecca has a blog called Mommiedom ((http://queenmommiedom.blogspot.com/) where she talks about all the things in her life not just those “confessions”.
