“The scariest thought in the world is that someday I’ll wake up and realize I’ve been sleepwalking through my life: underappreciating the people I love, making the same hurtful mistakes over and over, a slave to neuroses, fear, and the habitual.” – George Saunders

Every day we wake up is a new day.  We can choose how we want to spend our day and how we want to feel about the events that occur.  Why do so many of us choose to be stressed, unhappy, depressed, angry or resentful?  What if every day we choose something different?

Here are 3 reasons why you should wake up and be happy today:

1. You Are Alive

It seems like a simple thing, but really it is rather important if you think about it.  Death will end your dreams, your goals and your aspirations.  You are here today and with every breath that you take you have the choice to be happy or to be pissed off.  You have the choice to change your thoughts and change your life or stay on your hamster wheel of emotional distress.

Do you believe in the power of the mind?  Even if you’re not in perfect health as long as you are alive you have the ability to do your best to change your circumstances.  Many people believe you can cure the body of anything through thought. Those who have experienced spontaneous remission will tell you they believed that their thoughts affected their physical condition.  Thoughts are powerful.

For today you are alive.  For today you have a choice.  For today you can wake up and decide what you want your day to be because you are alive.  This may not be the case next week or next year so how do you want to spend your time on earth?

You are alive.  Be happy.

2.  You Have Everything You Need

Maybe you don’t have everything you want. But, who says you need all those things to be happy?  Happiness does not exist externally. Happiness does not come from things.

If you are reading this chances are you are living a much more comfortable life than eighty percent of the world who live in poverty.  If you have a roof over your head, running water, food, clothes and access to books then what else do you need?

Will that shiny new Mercedes or that five bedroom house bring you happiness?  We live in a consumer driven society that bombards us with images of affluence and products and we are continually told that we need THINGS in order to be happy.  But, this is a fallacy.

Have you heard of hedonic adaptation?  This theory stands for the proposition that in time we become accustomed to anything new.  So, you can keep getting new things but eventually you won’t be happy with them and you will need more and more and more.

Imagine living on a house atop a hill with views of the ocean.  To most of us this would be a dream come true and you could never imagine becoming bored with the magnificence of the sunsets or the crashing of the waves or the frolicking of the dolphins.  But, according to hedonic adaption you would become bored.  Eventually, this view would become your new normal and it wouldn’t be so wonderful or enticing.

Things don’t make you happy.  Experiences make you happy.  Eating a good steak (sorry vegetarians).  Meeting new people.  Long conversations.  A good glass of wine. Relationships. Sitting on your porch reading a book. Going for a walk on the beach.  The ability to appreciate the things you do have will make you happy.

Multiple studies have shown that lottery winners eventually go back to their baseline of happiness once all the newness wears off.  So, what makes you think you would be any different? Winning the lottery or suddenly becoming rich won’t make you happy.

Don’t think for one minute that having more money or nicer clothes, or that Fendi bag or brand new BMW will bring you happiness. Oh, it might for a few days or even weeks, but eventually you will tire of all of it and you will want more.

There is a way to combat hedonic adaption.  Try new things. Try denying yourself of that thing that you are used to having. Live without for awhile.  Change it up.

You have everything you need.  Be happy.

3. The Little Things

Sometimes we forget that the little things in life that can bring us joy.  We forget to live in gratitude for simplicity.  What are the little things you have that you can be grateful for?  Just for today think about it and be thankful for them.

Some things I am thankful for today.  My patio with the little flower pots that I try to keep alive, crème brulee’ creamer in the morning with my coffee, the fact that I’m meeting my friend Ann for happy hour, I have all my legs and arms and fingers and toes, the sun is shining, my sister and I are talking again, I have found a way to finally love myself, a friend told me a blog post I had written made a difference in someone who was contemplating suicide.

Today I am grateful that I woke up and I get to write and I think this may just save my soul.

What can you wake up and be happy about?  Often we forget the little things.  We forget the love and the joy and the things that surround us every minute of every day that we can be grateful for.

Everyone has something to be grateful for so stop thinking of all the things you don’t have and start thinking about the things you do have.  The more you live in gratitude and abundance the more you will receive.  The more you live in negativity and limitation the less you will get.  Today is what you get and today is what you have.

What are all the little things you have?  Be happy.