Happiness and her ugly twin sister unhappiness

The late John Candy was Del in the classic "Planes, Trains and Automobiles."In a scene, he blurted out: "Well, you think what you want about me. I'm not changing. I like...I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. Cause I am the real article. What you see is what you get."

Are you happy? For most people the answer is "Yes and no"or "Yes, but I could be happier."

Some people are unhappy because they don't like their job or their spouse. Others are unhappy because they don't know how to relax or appreciate who they are and all they have.

Let me tell you about my experiences with happiness and her ugly twin sister unhappiness.

The 1st thing I learned is that I will never be happy pretending to be someone other than myself. On too many occassions to count, and in ways too embarrassing to recall, I ahve tried to impress people by pretending to be someone other than who I really am. I am most happy when I am accepted for who I am.

The 2nd realisation is when i think back to the times I have not felt like going to the gym to work out. Some of those times, I chose the sofa and TV. 3 to 4 hours later, I felt lousy about myself. On the other hand, there were times when I don't feel like working out, but I did it anyway. After that, I'm always glad I did. The sense of satisfaction and well-being lasts for hours after i finished working out. That's happiness. It can be sustained beyond the activity producing the happiness.

In every moment of our lives, we choose between happiness and misery. and sometimes long-term misery comes disguised as short-term joy. But this much I know: I have been most happy the past 5 years when I approached life one day at a time.