is HAPPINESS really a choice?

It is a choice, everyone has problems and bad things happen to them. Sometimes we can feel so alone as though no one knows how we feel or why so much bad is happening in our lives, but the reality is that is how everyone feels sometimes. We have to remind ourselves of all the good still left in the world and all the reasons that the world is good. Call a friend and ask them to tell you something good. Smile even if you don't feel it, force yourself to laugh when you find nothing funny. Scientific research shows that pretending to laugh or smile sends messages to your brain that you are happy so it will release "happy chemicals" Also things like exercise and dark chocolate release endorphins the same things that are released when you are in love. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you aren't alone, there are others out there who are choosing to be happy through all the sadness they face. Remember that somewhere there is a giant blue butterfly surfing the breeze, somewhere someone is falling in love, somewhere someone is baking cookies from their grandma's recipe. The world is a good place if you know where to look. Give yourself a hug if you can't find someone to do it for you :) here's one from me *hug*

I think happiness really is a choice. I wake up everyday trying to be the most positive, enthusiastic person I know. Sounds corny, but it's true. I think that attitude positively helps. We all could wallow in self-pity, but I try not to on a daily basis. I'm thankful and happy!! :-)

Life throws up plenty of flak. Choosing to do what makes you happy, yeah. Seriously, letting the lousy situations run anything isn’t a good idea. Anything or anyone can become a problem if you let it happen. Get rid of them. If you want to get involved, that’s a choice, too. There’s always something you can do. According to your profile you’ve got a bit of living to do yet. Learn to see the problems coming, and avoid them. Duck the slings and arrows, and let “outrageous circumstance” get along without you. Most important, if you’re in an environment that’s creating the problems for you, particularly regularly, get out of it. That’s a good choice, always.

Hmm.. yes to be frank. You can see happiness in even the most saddest things, I have been trying to incorporate that in my life. I might be sad seeing someone having the latest mobile with a 2megapix camera, compared to my simple mobile, but another person may not even have one. So it's where you look at. You can control it largely.

Life is not easy. I've been living in a hard life. Sometimes I want just give up and end up my life. Why can I still write this discussion ? Because I still living and try to burn my spirit up and face the world on my own strength. Just don't give up thou, there are many beautiful side of the world that you haven't see. Life is beautiful, keep it in your mind that way and you'll have fuel and strenght to face the next day with a new story begin.

well for me happiness is choise...well its upon u how u look at life...the way u look at things...is u feel it makes u happy its good....have positive approach towards life...dont get frustrated by something sad ...after sad comes happiness....

The feeling of happiness has to be worked on to enjoy.When we do earn it,then we have a choice of accepting it or putting it aside to worry or work on something else(like I do with depression). When I am feeling low,something may happen that should in normal circumstances make me very happy.However,with my mind frame at that time,I will overlook the positive and make a negative out of it or some other thing.

It is a choice for sure.Sometimes things just don't go the way you want them to but your choice is to be happy or unhappy about it.I have a few things going on in my life at the moment but I choose to count my blessings.It really is a choice.If you have a bright outlook I think eventually things will go your way.It is good to consider the glass half full instead of half empty.

Hi Celestialvie, I am sorry that life gets so down for you at times, and what people say about choises is right! However you need the "life tools" to be able to maintain the positive attitudes! There are courses offered by various organizations (womens groups, social groups especially if one has had traumatic experiences) which if you fall under a certain $ income they are free over here, hopefully you have the same availability over there as these help understand the various ways of looking at things instead of being locked into "tunnel" vision and create skills for remaining positive! Good luck!

You often have no choice about what happens to you, but you do have a choice about how you respond or react to your circumstances. Having said that, it is also sometimes very hard for a person who is in the midst of despair to find the courage to make the best choice. That is where faith comes in. You can say that you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel,but you know that it is there. To me those electronic doors at the stores really represent faith. We do not even think, we walk up to them, and the doors come open. I hope you choose to approach the doors to happiness, and they open up wide for you.

well we cant change every sitation in our life....well happiness for me isnot a choice.....there are many things happening to us for us to be more matured...and it help us to be stronger...

yes, i think so. people can either choose to be happy or choose to be miserable. if you choose the first than the latter, then you will not have to worry about anything in your life and live easy.

i very much believe that happiness is a choice. You can choose to be happy and condition your feelings to be happy at one thing even if you dont notice it before. Choosing to be happy is like thinking positively.

Everything in life is a choice. Think of it this way, you can spend your day picking up negative things that happen or you can spend it absorbing the positive, good things that happen. If you chose to see the bad then thats how you will feel, but allowing to see the good will make you feel good. Choosing to see the good is your choice of happiness.

I am glad that you have not given up and hope that you never do give up. I have felt the same bad experiences and feelings as you and many other people but fought through it with the help of my family, friends and doctors. I am back to being happy again and enjoying life. Things that normally would have gotten me down do not upset me or get me down anymore. If we want to be happy, we would do things that make us happy. We should always try and look at the glass as half full and not half empty.

i think you have to pull yourself away from pecimism,sometimes i drift towards it but i think without hope you just get lost in it all.i have bad days where i feel hopeless but then i focus on the things i have instead of the things i dont.i may not have money,a car,holdays,posh furniture,nice clothes or steak for tea but i do have a house that i love,a wonderful family,3 precious kids,my health,light,heat,warmth and food in the cuboard.i buy all of our clothes from charity shops and even then im scrimping but my kids are happy and no kids are loved more than mine.you have to have hope or whats the point?good luck.hope you find your smile.x

Happiness is a choice. I saw a quote spray painted on the sidewalk one afternoon, it said "happiness is a brave decision." ..and it sure is... you cannot count on the rest of the world to make you happy, probably just the opposite and your situation may not lend you any joy, so who's going to care about your happiness but you? It's up to you, choose happy.

It's good that you would like to see the better side of life. that is a good start. My simple advice is for you to choose the circumstances in your life that you want to react to. And make sure that those that will make you feel negative about life will not be given much attention and effort. you can just look at the situation as a learning experience so you can be a better person. God bless!

its a choice in my opinion, I try to see the good in the bad and try to remember that this too will pass and that in every situation, a lesson is learned and you take that knowledge with you, into life and other cicrumstances. I try to wake up happy and stay upbeat. While my life may not be perfect, I do have it better than some- so my decision is to stay positive and upbeat. Its all up to each individual, you can wallow in pity or seek the rainbow after the storm.:)

yes, happiness is a choice. life is not supposed to be easy. disappointments, heartaches, failures and all negative stuff are a part of life. it's necessary for us to experience the happy moments, as well as the bad ones, to help us grow. life is a never-ending learning process. all of us knows this already. and yet, whenever we encounter bad experiences we feel like we're the sorriest person on earth. we forget that other people go through the same things that we do. and it's really hard sometimes to motivate yourself to be happy. it's difficult to erase negative thoughts and feelings and replace it with positive ones. but we must try to be happy. find things that will pick you up when you're down. it could be reading an inspirational book, listening to music that you love, talking to a friend. what works for others might not work for you but try to find ways that will work to make yourself happy. and always remember that we cannot depend on others to make us happy. only you can make yourself truly happy.