Happiness is a choice.
This may come as a bold statement for many, yet it is the absolute truth. In almost any situation we find ourselves, we can choose to be happy if we want to. Obviously, this is more difficult to do in some situations than in others. For example, if we are in physical pain, it's very difficult to focus our minds on happiness. And when we are experiencing something pleasurable, happiness almost comes on it's own.
In our modern world, we rarely experience physical pain. Most of the situations we find ourselves unhappy in are simply situations that don't meet our expectations. A friend who betrays our trust, a life partner that is dishonest or unfaithful, a boss that is difficult and demanding. These are the types of situations that we can choose to be happy in if we set our mental focus properly.
But how do we find happiness in the midst of these situations? Or, on a more basic level, how do we control our emotions to be what we want them to be? And an even more basic question, why would we want to?
Let's start with the most basic question, why would we want to control our emotions and make them be something other than those expected?
One of the core principles in the Keys To Power system (and many New Thought systems) is that the Power of Spirit is directed by the thoughts and feelings within us to create our experiences. This means that when we're thinking and feeling happy thoughts, Power will be directed to create happy experiences. When we think and feel unhappy thoughts, Power is directed to create unhappy experiences. This 'Law of Power' works just as surely and accurately as any other natural Law, such as gravity.
Most people understand the basic concepts here, yet will do nothing to implement them into their lives!
But maybe that is because they don't really know how. Which gets us to the next question, how do we control our emotions to be what we want them to be?
To get to the answer to that question, we need to understand how the emotions work. the emotions react to mental stimulus. This means that the combination of our thoughts, beliefs, mental images, and perceptions of the world around us work together to create our emotions.
The sight of a mountain can arouse feelings of pride in one person, and feelings of failure in another. So, to control our emotions, we need to control the mental stimulus that creates those emotions.
One of the most basic (and most effective) mental stimulus is the judgment that we place on the interpretation of each event. When we judge an event to be bad, our emotional reaction is negative and unhappiness results. If we judge an event to be good, then happiness is much more likely. In many motivational programs, you will find the instruction to label all experiences as good, and then to search for the goodness in the experience.
The goodness of the situation is harder to find. For example, someone lies to you and causes you to lose your trust in them. What good is there in that? Maybe it's an indication that your trust is misplaced and you need to focus elsewhere for truth. Maybe it's an indication that you've allowed an experience to be created (from previous usages of Power) that you don't like. In this case, it's an indication that you need to refocus your mind to create what you do want, and not what you don't want.
And this is the central message here. Your thoughts and feelings are directing Power to create your life experiences. Think about the possibility of dishonesty, or allow yourself to feel that dishonesty is a possibility, and you sow the seeds for a dishonest experience.
Now let's get to our first question, how can we find happiness in the midst of unhappy experiences?
Whatever the situation, we need to focus our mind on happy things. Maybe we start to think about other situations other than the one we are currently in. Think about a time when you were tremendously happy. Relive the experience in your mind. Pretend that you are having the same experience right now.That's it.
Alan Tutt is the creator of the world-famous Keys To Power system and operates the PowerKeys Publishing network of websites. Find many insightful books that help you get maximum results from minimum effort, including the FREE 12 lesson course "Effortless Power" at http://www.PowerKeysPub.com.
