Joyful Ever After

I’ve made a change in the blog to reflect a change in attitude.

That’s right, I’m choosing joy just in time for Christmas.

I heard something interesting recently: happiness leaves contentment to happenstance.

So when conditions are favorable, we experience satisfaction and pleasure. When we encounter resistance and negative circumstances, then there’s disappointment and sadness. That’s happiness.

This explains why “being happy” has felt so elusive.

When I graduated from college, I felt so happy. I felt like the world was mine for the taking. But that happiness disappeared when I struggled to find my first reporter position, when the only writing job I could find was a freelance gig that paid pennies per word, when massive student loan payments and a small monthly income meant moving back home.

My wedding day is one the happiest moments of my life. Everything was so beautiful on that day and the man standing at the alter was my best friend. But then we had our first wedded argument, and I realized there is a lot of work to be done if we want to keep those happy moments coming.

Sometimes happiness can be hard to come by.

Like when you have a full calendar and every weekend seems to be filled with activities. All you want to do is sleep in or maybe just sit on the couch and read a really good magazine. I know, I know. #FirstWorldProblems

When there’s so many problems – at work, at home, in your relationships – eventually you struggle to recall the last time you felt fulfilled.

I don’t want to live like that.

Don’t get me wrong. On those happy occasions I feel like I could climb the tallest mountain. But I don't want the crazy lows that happens once those occurrences are over. I want off the emotional rollercoaster.

I want to have more control of how I react to life’s twists and turns. I want to find gratitude and contentment in the midst of hardships.

That is what joy means to me.

I changed the name of my blog from Happily Ever After to Joyfully Ever After to reflect a change in perspective. I don’t want to wait for a happy moments. I want to see the goodness in every situation. I want to live in the moment rather that dwell on the past.

I hope you will check in here to follow my journey as I try to make the best of rough moments and find balance in this crazy life.