“Happiness is not the absence of problems” a powerful statement, right?  And a hundred percent accurate. In today’s generation I have noticed that you have some people that would rather see or hear people complain all day about how bad their life is. You also have some that will judge someone and label them as being fake if they always display a joyful attitude. Happiness is not the absence of problem speaks major volume to me because I commit every day to be happy no matter what I am facing at the time. Does this mean that life is not happening? no It just means that no matter what being happy is my first choice. This choice does not only benefit myself, but it has an impact on the people in my home, the people I work with, and family members.  We all have moments in life where we want to just scream, a lot of times the first thing in the morning you are greeted with stuff for example an outstanding bill, car won’t start, missed your alarm clock, the weather, ticket on your car, eviction notice on your door, a lay off phone call from your job,  just to name a few. At the time these obstacles can seem like too much and in the moment, we are so upset we cannot even think of being solution oriented, and sometimes after being greeted with stuff we still must continue with our normal routine. This is not the easiest thing to do when all you can think of is why now and how am I supposed to fix this; I was not expecting this to happen etc.

Those were some of the things I would say out loud sometimes, I would even let what happened ruin my whole day of being productive because I was still in the mindset of this thing happening instead of telling myself it happened and the only thing you can do now is find the solution. In these moments is when I am especially grateful for my husband and him being my voice of reasoning. Having someone that is capable reminding you of what is most important and even sometimes to just remind you of your strength and who you are.  The problem a lot of the times is we go through life, we face obstacles, but what most people are missing is someone that can encourage you to stay encouraged and keep going. I am also grateful for my accountability partners my mother and my best friend over ten years sometimes you have people in your life that just knows when and what to say at the right moment.  A lot of the times that’s all I needed to calm me down, I would take a moment to have word with God just asking him for guidance. Once I have cast my problems unto him, I am able to go on worry free and just be happy. Another thing that helped me was when I worked in the hospital and I would meet a patient that was very ill but had the most pleasant attitude this helped me with being more present to the fact that happiness is really your choice. The choice of how we choose to live life No, the issues will not disappear, but we must trust that it will be handled at the right moment

While we wait for directions on how to fix it our mission is to remain focus and just be happy. my advice to myself and all of you is not to care what people think about your happiness and how you handle life.  Take on life’s obstacles with grace and gratitude. When life seems hard, feel free to take a trip down memory lane and think about all the obstacles that came before this one. Think about how unsure you were at first, and  remember how you got through it and  the lessons you learned along the way. Remember do not apologize for being you and remain focus on your happiness. In the long run you will have learned the value of just being happy vs being happy because of people, places, and things because you chose happiness even when your world seemed upside down. It is not easy, but it is worth it