A few days ago, I was writing in my diary when I found myself writing a simple, direct question: “Albert, are you happy?” It seems like a question that should have a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, but on this occasion, I couldn’t land on either. It was quite revealing. After several minutes of thinking, I realised my answer seemed to revolve around my interactions with the closest people in my life—my wife, my kids, my colleagues.
But then I remembered the words of my cousin Petra, who wrote in a Facebook post, “I deserve it and I’ve decided I am not going to delegate celebrating me to anyone… happiness is an inside job.”
That’s the truth, isn’t it? We cannot always control the environment or the situations we find ourselves in, but we can make the choice to be happy. Creating your own happiness is an “inside job” that you should never delegate to others.
As I mentioned in my book “The Journey Within”, this journey of self-love is not always easy. It takes time, effort, and practice. But it is worth it. When we love ourselves and build our internal sense of happiness, we are better able to love others and make the world a better place. If you’re interested, I’ve made that chapter, “Self-Love Is Not Selfish,” available for you to download for free here.
So, my dear reader, I’ll ask you the same question that stopped me: Are you happy? What do you do, or what can you do, to make that conscious choice to be happy? I would love to hear your thoughts.
