Pre-plan your Happiness?

"When life give you lemons, make lemonade!"

Happiness is a choice... I never completely finished the book, but the title had a life changing impact.

I can choose to be happy? That really got me thinking...I really want to be happy.

I was not happy. I was very unhappy, and using food to cover my unhappiness.

I decided to make the conscious choice to be happy.

I started my pre-planning, because when life gets hard, we need to have our soft place to land picked out ahead of time.

"Make Lemonade," became my motto. Every time life would get hard, I would look into the mirror, and literally tell myself to make lemonade.

I would put on my "Favorites Playlist," (happy songs that invoke positive feelings), dance and sing in my house, my car, wherever I was. The music would help get me out of my head, allowing me to step back and find clarity.

I made a list of my "blessings," and read them out loud several times per day. I even made a recording on my phone to listen to repeatedly.

I wrote positive phrases on my mirrors with dry-erase markers, and read them aloud many times per day.

Of course this was not easy, and even sometimes, it is still challenging. Many times I felt like I was even lying to myself, but when life hands us lemons, we can be upset over how tart they are, or we can sweeten it up and choose to make lemonade.

Many times since I decided I was going to be happy, I have found myself in not so desirable situations, of course, because this is life.... In these situations I chose to make lemonade, and people around me have complimented me on how positive I am and how much people love to see my smile and be around the positive energy.

The biggest compliment I get, is being told how much others enjoy my positivity, which just continues to motivate me more, not only to continue to foster happiness in my own life, but also to help others find and see the happiness in their own lives as well.

We can be here, alive, on this earth, happy, or unhappy. The choice is ours.