If one thinks that one is happy, that is enough to be happy. -Madame de la Fayette
I am a huge proponent of fake it until you make it. You’re not going to be happy 100% of the time. You’ll be tired, you’ll be down, you’ll be frustrated…those are all natural emotions and we all experience them. The trick is, in my opinion, not to let them overwhelm you. Today, for example, I am exhausted. I drove up to see my son perform at his college yesterday and drove back last night. It literally wiped me out. I can sit here an wallow in my exhaustedness, or I can present a happy face to the world. The awesome thing is, when you think happy and act happy, pretty soon you’ll start to realize you really are happy. Try it. Just start smiling and thinking about cheeful things. Seriously, try it for five minutes and see how you’re feeling at the end of those five minutes. I bet you’ll find that your mood has improved! What have you got to lose – it’s just five minutes. Give it a whirl and start getting your happy on.
