Creating Your Own Happiness

I played basketball all throughout my childhood. I played as a kid, in high school, and even collegiately. I was never a gifted athlete. Instead, I had to rely on hard work and mental toughness to achieve success. My game was based on me being able to put myself in the right spot on the floor, giving me the best chance to make something good happen. My success centered almost entirely on being in a position that allowed me to do the right thing.

I’ve been in a bad funk lately. My running, my work, nearly everything has suffered. It started as a mental funk (due to several stresses), then gradually worked its way into a physical funk as well. I had no desire to run, and when I did drag myself out for a run, my legs felt pretty lousy. I have mentioned before how my mental and physical state of being are linked, and when one is out of whack the other is sure to follow. On the physical side of things, I took a few days off from running to try to recharge the energy levels. As for the mental aspect, things are as bit more complicated.

A student of mine was reading an article entitled “Creating Your Own Happiness”. The title got me thinking about life. Happiness is a funny thing and can be quite elusive at times. Life, like my basketball career, is all about putting yourself in a position to be successful. Happiness is no different. It takes effort, but you need to position yourself in situations that lend themselves to happiness. I’m not talking about some bacchanalian life, but genuine happiness. I know what makes me happy, but recently I have not been in a happy state of mind. I have not been putting myself in a good position to achieve happiness. It’s all very complicated, but it’s been a stressful few weeks. I know what I need to do, and I plan on doing it. Life is too short to be unhappy. Like Andy Dufresne said in The Shawshank Redemption, “It comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying”.