From zero to 10, how happy have you decided to be today? Is your score 5 out of 10, or 2 out of 10 or 8 out of 10, perhaps? Can you find the place in your mind where you have already made a decision about how good today will be, and how good this year will be and how good your life will be? Choice is a powerful thing. More of anything or everything will not make a difference to your happiness score until you consciously choose to be happy. Therefore, set an intention to be happy today. Decide to make today even more enjoyable than you thought it was going to be.
During Be Happy, my 8-week happiness program, I ask my students this question: Could you be even happier even if nothing in the world around you changed? What is your answer: yes or no? In the most recent class, the score was 100 percent for "yes." How could this be? Well, common answers include, "I could choose to accept myself more" and "I could choose to see things differently" and "I could choose to enjoy my life more" and "I could start making smarter choices." The one thing in common all these answers have is choice. Your happiness score rises when you stop chasing happiness and start choosing happiness.
