Choosing Happiness: Day 2

It's November 10th, 11:30 AM, and the world has already decided to fuck me.

Nearly everyone around me has completely lost their shit. I'm flanked on all sides by anger, frustration, stress, and bullshit. Not only that, but I'm the whipping boy of the day. Passive aggressive comments are being thrown my way as often as opportunity allows. Not only is this negativity hanging around the office, it's actively attacking me at every turn.

Choosing to be happy is one thing, but making a choice counter to your environment is another. It's like choosing to not move when someone throws you into water. You'll drown.

So, I chose to swim.

If I'm going to choose to be happy, I can only make that choice when the circumstances support it. So, I got the fuck out of there. I didn't return to my desk for a good long time. At one point, I went into a closet by myself, raised my arms in the air, breathed out and said my mantra: "I choose to be happy today. Fuck all that sad nonsense. I'm happy today."

I'm not going to lie: The day didn't get a whole lot better. People were still in a shitty mood. It was still a very busy, stressful day.

The one thing that did change was me. I made the choice to not be a part of all the aggressive negativity. Something else happened though: Since I didn't make the choice to be angry or resentful towards my coworkers, those feelings were replaced by empathy.

Choosing to not be a part of their pain allowed me to view it through a different lens. I saw people that were working hard and feeling unappreciated. I saw people that had reached their limit, and they reacted accordingly. I saw people that wanted to lash out against someone, and I was the easiest target. It wasn't personal. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It astounds me how basic these lessons are. My mother, an amazing special education teacher, always told her students that everything they did was a choice. They can choose to be one way or another, but ultimately how they behave and view the world is completely in their control. If only I had listened more than her students.

I've chosen to be happy. So far, I've learned three lessons from choosing happiness:

1. When you choose to be happy, you alter your surroundings. People and places become brighter simply because you've chosen to make them so.

2. Choosing to be happy eliminates anger and promotes love. You no longer resent others. You choose to love them. This love breeds empathy, kindness, and understanding, which makes choosing happiness much easier.

3. Sometimes, choosing happiness means walking the fuck away. Because fuck that sad nonsense.