The Secret To Happiness

2003-02-25 - 12:25 a.m.

Here it is, folks. I've been talking it up for a while, but I've finally gotten it written. So enjoy....

The Secret To Happiness

(It's simpler than you'd think)

A lot of people go through life thinking that one's mood is the sum of one's positive and negative circumstances. These poor people believe that if more bad things happen to you than good, you should be in a bad mood to match. They figure that if you add up all the good and bad things that happen to you, you should be content if and only if the good outweigh the bad. These folks are doomed to a life of disappointment, because no matter what they do, they never even manage to break even.

The only way to solve this problem is to completely abandon the "sum total" method of mood determination in favor of a better way. Instead of relying on the world to provide you with a good enough situation for you to be happy, turn the cause/effect relationship around. There is absolutely no reason why your happiness should be dependent on your circumstances. In other words, and this is the key, YOU DON'T NEED A REASON TO BE HAPPY!!!!!!!

I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I'm speaking from wonderful experience. Don't believe me? Try it out tomorrow, or whenever you feel ready. Do what I do sometimes: I just wake up in the morning and say to myself, Self, today you are going to be happy. Today is a good day, and nothing can change that. I refuse to let myself get upset by anything. That's all it takes. The rest of the day, just smile at everyone you see. If something bad happens to you, just shrug it off and say, Yeah that wasn't so good. But I'm happy today so I'm not going to let it bother me. Believe it or not, you can actually fix problems better if you don't let yourself get upset about them. Your good mood is unflappable. All because you've discovered that you can be happy for no reason at all......just because you want to. And who doesn't want to be happy?

It may be hard to launch into this new philosophy of happiness. So if you have trouble just being happy for no reason, try being happy about the little things. It really doesn't take much. If you find a penny on the floor, be happy because you might be lucky. If you see a boy or girl you kind of dig on, let a warm smile crawl across your face until it spreads to your mind and heart. If you make it to class on time (a mammoth achievement not to be scoffed at), be happy for that, too. It doesn't matter what it is, just so long as you can derive a simple pleasure from it. It can be as trivial as the fact that it's sunny outside, or rainy, windy, or snowy for that matter. Finding these little things to be happy about makes it easier to get through the day without your good feelings being shaken.

If both these methods fail, there is always one foolproof method for being happy. Even though you don't need a reason to be happy, it's important to remember that you always have some anyway. No matter what happens in your life, there is an all-powerful God watching over you who loves you more than you will ever, ever know. Even if you're in a bad mood. Not only that, but when you think about the incredible sacrifice He made in Jesus, how can you still be unhappy? You don't have to do one single thing to merit His love and forgiveness. If that's not good enough for you, then I have no more advice to give.

As you can see, the philosophical side of Nathan Graber is nothing to shake a stick at. God even works miracles of ideas and words in idiots and dreamers like me. So do as Paul tells us and "count it all joy," even when you don't see a reason to. And always remember, you don't need a reason to be happy. But if you ever want one, you've got Him anyway.

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