Happiness means many different things to different people. But one thing remains the same… happiness is not something physical or tangible, it is cognitive. It is defined by each person’s individual perception of a situation.

I have had many ups and downs throughout my journey and every time I’m in a downward trend I rack my brain trying to figure out, why. Why did this happen again? Why do I keep sabotaging myself? Why can’t I stay on track? Why? Why? Why?

Today, I learned that I shouldn’t focus on the, why. Instead, I should focus on what I am doing to pick myself back up again. What is it, in that specific moment that I can change to bring happiness back into my life.

I have always said, and strongly believe that it all starts and stops in our minds. “What you give power to, has power over you. If you let it.” I’m not a size 2. I don’t have a child at 33. I don’t have a cool million in the bank. I can either let these thoughts keep me in a funk or I can change my thought process.

I’m not a size 2, but eating cleanly and working out consistently will only help me get closer to achieving my long term goal of finally getting under 200 pounds. I don’t have a child at 33, but I can start researching our options again and know that it is OK to let the tears fall when they need to. I don’t have a cool million in the bank, but I have a roof over my head every night and food on my table every day so I’d say I’m doing OK.

By tweaking my thoughts ever so slightly, the plan is that I will in turn create my own happiness.