Happiness is a Choice

We had our Relief Society Summer Salad Social this month. For some reason unknown to me, I was asked to be the speaker. I'm certainly not an expert on the topic and regularly make fun of how I struggle with "the 5 o'clock blues". So I did some reading and some thinking and these are the thoughts I put together...

Happiness is a Choice!

1. Let it be an attitude and not governed by our emotions
--a. “shake off the mad”
-----i. While babysitting my 5 year old niece, I put her on timeout for a tantrum. I told her she would have to just shake off these mad feelings before she could play. A few minutes later, I saw her thrashing her arms and legs. I asked what she was doing and she replied “I have to shake off the mad”.
--b. Choose your thoughts
--c. Let go of judgments, it only fills you with bitterness
--d. Live in the present, let go of the past
--e. The power of compliments!
-----i. Accept graciously
-----ii. Give often, but give sincerely

2. What are your expectations?
--a. Being happy isn’t constant euphoria but accepting ups and downs. We know we are to be tested in this life. Enjoy the ride.
-----i. President Gordon B. Hinckley has written: “I am an optimist! … My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we ‘accentuate the positive’” (Standing for Something [2000], 101).
--b. Be satisfied, find beauty in the things around you
--c. What is most important to you? Big things and little. Acknowledge and appreciate.
-----i. Close your eyes and think about the things most important to you. Commonly family, career, etc. Think about the small things too. Calling mom for advice, having husband change the oil in my car, kids eating dinner without a fight. If these were gone, how much we would miss them. Acknowledge and appreciate.

3. Live the gospel
--a. Alma 41:10 that “wickedness never was happiness.” And “those who keep commandments unto end shall dwell with God in state of never-ending happiness”, Mosiah 2:41
--b. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 255–56).
-----i. Happiness isn’t just something God gave us to make life more bearable at times. It’s the purpose and what life should be!
--c. “We can feel happiness every day in our lives through little things we do, and we are fully happy as we keep the commandments of a loving God.” –Elder Claudio Costa
--d. Elder Richard G. Scott said: “Your joy in life depends upon your trust in Heavenly Father and His holy Son, your conviction that their plan of happiness truly can bring you joy” (“Finding Joy in Life,” Ensign, May 1996, 24).