Think about it. List all the names of people that you are responsible for their happiness. Let’s see, your spouse or significant other, list all your children. Are their family members on that list? How about co-workers, or people you manage? Should I keep going? Are their friends that need you to be happy? How many names did you get on your list? 5, 10?
Who is responsible for your happiness? How many people do you allow to be responsible to make you happy? Is that list bigger than the people you are responsible to make happy? Or is there nobody in your life who can make you happy?
What if I told you that you are responsible for your happiness and only your happiness? First, do you believe me? I have been really feeling into this recently and I know that I am still working on it. When my wife is unhappy, it is hard for me to either not be unhappy, but also not to want to make her happy. But, it is her choice to be happy or not. I can try to influence her happiness, but she is the one who makes the choice. And, I can choose to be happy even if she chooses to be unhappy.
Second, if you believe me that you are only responsible for your happiness, do you feel a weight life from your shoulders? I know that I do. When I know that I am not responsible for anybody else’s happiness, I feel it is much easier for me to be happy. Yes, it is a work in progress, and sometimes I have to pause and ask, “who am I trying to make happy?” or “what is preventing me from being happy?” Once I ask the question, I can release trying to make somebody else happy, or being controlled by the unhappiness of others. I am then able to make a choice for myself to be happy or not, but not based on the happiness of others. Sometimes I am still unhappy, but that is because the unhappiness is there to tell me something else that I need to considered before I can choose happiness, but I really need to clear other people’s happiness before I can get the message.
So, take some time and consider your happiness and how you might change how you choose your happiness. Let me know what you think, or if you want to have a conversation about your happiness, in the comment section below.