So at the end of last year I had the opportunity to change positions in the company I work for. While it was a lateral move for me it would give me a greater chance for promotion and would also give me something new to do. I accepted the new position but it took a couple of months before I could transition to it due to hiring my replacement and a few other issues. Now change can cause some stress in me, more so than it should, so this two months of being in between two jobs was a little rough on me.

A pastor friend of mine suggested I make a list of things I was thankful about in my new position. He said by doing this positive exercise, it would help to adjust my perception while I was in limbo. “First the decision, then the determination” was his advice. So I jotted down about a dozen pluses to my new job and felt better about it. Truthfully my only fears about the new position were irrational ones. Things like a fear of failure and a fear of dealing with a new group of people.

So the list helped me relax more about by new position as I was still in transition. Truthfully I think the fact that I was doing both jobs for a couple of months contributed greatly to my anxiety about the final move over. Along the way, the positive list helped, but I needed just a little more.

Now I’m normally not the type of person to get motivated by affirmations. I don’t hang motivational posters up in my cube nor does a pithy phrase typically move me to action. Still at times it can be little things like these that provide just the anchor you need. So on the same paper where I listed the positive aspects of my new position, I jotted down some forward looking positive statements. Things like “I can do the job” and “I’m positioning myself for better things”, etc. One thing I jotted down, almost on a whim was “happiness is a choice.”

I thought about that and realized that it was a very true statement. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to wallow in self-pity or depression. I was getting so used to being uncomfortable in my limbo status that it colored all of my perceptions of things. I was grumpier and sleeping less all because I was in an uncomfortable, but temporary, situation at work. I had to realize that it would not even be a very long time that I was in this state and I could look at it positively or negatively. All of these things were completely in my control.

And that, my friends, is the crux of my post. I could be miserable or I could be happy. Whichever one I was came strictly from my own choice. The outside stimulus did not change, just my decision on how to handle them. Armed with this mild epiphany, I dealt with the remaining time at my old position and took positive steps to eliminate my fears on my new one. The last few weeks were far better than the earlier ones and the only that been modified was my internal communication with myself.

So if you find yourself grumbling and miserable about things, realize that ultimately, happiness is a choice. Make the positive changes you need to so that you can enjoy life more.