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HAPPINESS IS NOT A PLACE IT'S A STATE OF MIND
I recently moved back home to Utah after 19 years away. There are several reasons we moved back, but mainly we wanted to be by family. My 18 year son moved to Utah for the summer to do an internship and to be honest it was kind of an impulse move and happened very quickly. My daughter was going into 9th grade and so we thought it was no or never and we did it. I have moved over 15 times in my adult life and each time I have had so much learning and growth. If you have moved a lot in your life, you will get it.
As my kids have grown I have always made it goal to have my house be the party house. I love having people at my house and especially kids. Many of my house decisions revolve around “oh the kids will love that”. We had the ultimate party house in El Paso with a sand volleyball court, pool, basketball court, and outdoor kitchen. It was the best. We had kids at our house non-stop and it was dreamy.
We put our house in Texas on the market and it sold in 2 days so we were
happy about that. The market is a little cray-cray right now so for now we are
renting.
Happiness Is Not a Place it's a State of Mind
Change is often hard and although my daughter has been thriving in the most important areas, she has struggled in other areas. I recognize this is a 1st world problem and I have to remember my daughter is a teenager, but upon moving into our rental she realized how much smaller her bedroom was. She tried to have a positive attitude, but couldn’t hide her feelings of disappointment that her days of “the party house” are temporarily put on hold.
I tried, with little effort, to teach her a life lesson that I learned years ago. That lesson is happiness is not a place it’s a state of mind.
Years ago I had written a blog post on this exact topic. The blog was about my experience when I had moved to El Paso, Texas from Canton, MI.
Shortly after moving to El Paso, I decided to go for a run. I ran a few miles and then stopped myself in my tracks. I was in awe. The stars were so big and bright. I had been living in Michigan for the past six and half years and although the state was covered in lush, vibrant greenery and beautiful, serene lakes, it was always overcast. I soon learned that not only did El Paso have 300-and something days of sunshine, but that the sunsets were also beyond amazing. Dusk was regularly a display of colors that I didn’t previously know existed. The palm trees framed the sky like a scene from a postcard. To me, El Paso sky was beyond amazing.
Finding the Silver Lining
I have moved several times in my life, but I can’t pick which place was my favorite. I have loved them all for very different reasons. I always say I can be happy anywhere.
Often, we think we would be happy if we had this or that. Then we get this or that and find we are still not happy. Sometimes life takes us to places we never thought we would go. Sometimes the reasons we are taken there are not the most ideal and can be a result of trial or struggle. We may end up in places because of circumstances that are out of our control. We don’t always have choices when it comes to circumstances, but we always have choices about what we choose to think and feel about those circumstances.
When I look back over the last 25 years or so of my life there wasn’t one place I lived that I didn’t have an abundance of love, friendship, opportunity, memories, and happiness. Maybe I am just a glass-half-full kind of person, but there is always a silver lining if you look for it.
If you find yourself thinking that you don’t like where you live or what your life looks like right now, take some time and reflect on your thoughts. Change your thoughts to focus on the good. Search for gratitude. There is something good in every situation. As you learn to identify, control, and change your thoughts, you will soon realize that happiness is not a place, but a state of mind.
I'm Brittni Schroeder!
I’m a Diet Coke drinkin, chocolate eatin, Netflix watchin, all-around good time! I want to show you how to grow and scale your business. Let’s be business BFFs!
