to choose or not to choose

new motto, a photo by kari maxwell on Flickr.

To choose or not to choose? This is the question. We who attempt at living a life made of conscious decisions and disciplines perhaps know more than others that happiness is a choice. It isn't a frilly, willy nilly character trait that just happens to be a part of someone or not. Yes, there are people who are naturally more optimistic than others but...  Well, I just stand by my argument.

I would say that for the past eleven or twelve years, I have attempted at making happiness a priority.  This doesn't mean that I have been successful.  For some, the act of happiness is a muscle that needs to always get a bit stronger.  I found that once I chose to be happy, my happiness would be challenged throughout the day, sometimes almost immediately.  I have found, though, over the course of time, that my happiness muscle is a lot stronger than it used to be and life's just too short not to exercise it.

I chose the words above as my motto for 2013.  Simple yet profound.  Seems like common sense, yes?  Well, you'd be surprised how many people choose gossip, complaining, competition, the need to be right, etc. over happiness.  I know.  I used to be one of those people. And for those of us who are trying to strengthen that happiness muscle, these people seem to become even that more prevalent.

There are a lot of studies that have been performed on the correlation between happiness and productivity.  If you google such a topic, there is an abundance of research that proves such a statement.  I went for simple, though (I am happier with simple) and I stumbled upon Alexander Kjerulf and his website titled Chief Happiness Officer.  He lists 10 easy reasons why happiness is more productive.

• 1: Happy people work better with others
• 2: Happy people are more creative
• 3: Happy people fix problems instead of complaining about them
• 4: Happy people have more energy
• 5: Happy people are more optimistic
• 6: Happy people are way more motivated
• 7: Happy people get sick less often
• 8: Happy people learn faster
• 9: Happy people worry less about making mistakes – and consequently make fewer mistakes
• 10: Happy people make better decisions

I'm SOLD.  I choose happiness.  I choose creativity.  I want to be a problem solver.  I want to have more energy.  I choose to be physically more healthy.  I want to learn more quickly than I ever have before.  I want to worry less about making mistakes and make better decisions.

What do you want?