Making the Choice

Many people in life believe that the way we feel is forced upon us based on other people's choices or the events that occur in our lives. I have thought a lot about this over the last week and have come to the conclusion that regardless of what may happen in our lives, we have the ability to MAKE the choice to be happy. Everyday we are surrounded by people who are unhappy for one reason or another. We need to push past this epidemic of sorrow and truly decide to be happy with what we have and who we are. It is sometimes hard to control the urge to let ourselves get down, but if we change our outlook, it makes all the difference in the world.

I have this particular problem with presenting in front of people. I am afraid of how I will sound, look, or act when speaking to a large group of people. As I thought about this very principle in class this week I came to the realization that this fear and the nervous behavior I exhibit can be easily overcome. I can make the choice to be confident in myself. If I am confident in myself whatever mistakes I make will be irrelevant. Those mistakes can be corrected and eventually overcome altogether. If I am confident in my ability and knowledgeable about the subject I am presenting than everything else will fall into place. It is a matter of choosing to be confident rather than allowing my emotions to get the better of me.

The principle of making the choice applies to every aspect of our lives. I currently work in a position that I get yelled at on occasion. Do I choose to let it get me down and get upset, or do I choose to brush it off and be happy? The latter is always the most rewarding option. We are able to accomplish so much more in life with a good, confident, and enthusiastic attitude than we would ever be able to accomplish by letting emotion take us over. I am making the choice to be happy and it is rewarding.