Hope Springs Internal

After writing recently about my current state of mind (here and here), it occurred to me that I needed to update it.  While recent months have seen a haze settle over me, it seems that my mood is starting to turn, ever-so-slightly, back towards my usually optimistic self.  This change is due partly to situation, but is partly caused by choice.By nature, through the years I've learned to shelter myself.  Whether from family drama (turning inward), or simply in gaining the ability to not sweat the small stuff, I rarely fall into funks.  And when I recently found myself in the middle of a depressive state, I chose to let it linger.  After all, we need to pay attention to what our emotions are telling us -- simply brushing unpleasant things aside doesn't do anyone any good.While this funk hung on for a while, I began to feel a shift a week or so ago, as momentum has increased with my book's pending publication.  Something about having a deadline helps immensely in helping us create change.And with this deadline, every free moment of mine has been spent trying to create change for myself, for the better.  Whether it has been in compiling lists for promotional activities, or planning a book launch party, trying to get in shape for my book jacket photo, or making sure the manuscript is as close to perfect as possible, it has all served to help instill in me the belief that things are changing, for the better.  And the key here is that no one else has helped in creating change -- it all came from within.But at a certain point, I realized that as even though my efforts were helping to ease the funk, the fog had not lifted entirely.  The choice, finally, was up to me.  Do I wallow in self-pity, or take stock of all the good in my life and make the firm decision to be happy?While "choosing to be happy" might seem impossible to some (and for some with truly great issues, it may very well be), I believe that we alone control our ultimate state of being.  True, we need to feel the emotions as they occur, honor them, letting them resonate, but we also need to be aware when they begin to linger too long, leading to an unhealthy state of being.And so, today, I've decided to be happy.  It's all about the attitude, after all.I think it is going to be a great day.  How about you???http://youtu.be/OZ1k_SJwwNI