Happiness Month! Day 22: Optimism

Today is Day 22 of Happiness Month and it will be continuing all month long. This all started at the Secret Society of Happy People and if you want to pop over there and become an Amused Member, you can get a Free 31 Types of Happiness poster. As you can tell by my daily #HappinessHappens tweets and Facebook posts, I’ve been a member for a long, long time!

Today, to add happiness to your life: Optimism! Some people have naturally optimistic personalities, but if you are not someone blessed with that trait, today is your day to practice looking at your glass as half full.

The word “optimism” is a noun, and it means:

Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.
The belief that this world is the best of all possible worlds.

Some people are born optimistic and it comes to them like breathing–that’s just how they are. Others see things more skeptically (or they might say “realistically”) and they accuse optimists of being Pollyanna-ish or wearing rose colored glasses. But since we know that happiness is a CHOICE and not something that someone else “makes” you feel, you can add happiness to your life today if you actually practice seeing the silver lining in the clouds. That doesn’t mean you don’t see the clouds! Just for today, practice the seeing the bright side of life and say it out loud. Optimism can be extremely hard while your spouse is involved in an affair, but it can mean a lot to the recovery of the marriage if your attitude is positive, hopeful, and conveys that the future will be okay.

Over the next days, we’ll be going over all 31 ways to Add Happiness Every Day. You know too often I hear young people say “He doesn’t make me happy” or “I wish she would make me happy” but you know what? Happiness is not something that someone else “makes” you feel. You make choices in your life that can affect your happiness….and ultimately you CHOOSE whether to be happy every day or not. You can also choose to do things that would add happiness to your life every single today.