Best Self Magazine

4 Ways to Choose Happiness Today

4 Ways to Choose Happiness Today, by Dain Heer. Photograph of smiley face balloons by Hybrid
Photograph by Hybrid, courtesy of Unsplash

What if our happiness is not at all dependent upon others and external circumstances? What if instead, happiness is a simple choice?

When I was a kid, people would ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My response was, “Happy!” “No,” they would say, “What do you want to do? You know like being a doctor? A lawyer?” My response was still, “Be happy!”

Apparently, this was not the correct response — even though it made total sense to me.

As I grew up, I tried to get to that place of happiness by doing all the things that others said I should do. Beautiful fiancé. Check. Successful career. Check. Living in a nice place. Check. I had ticked the boxes of what others told me was valuable and would make me

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