Have you ever wondered where you could find that magical formula for happiness? It’s got to be a fantasy, right? Because everyone knows “happily ever after” doesn’t really exist… or does it?

Believe it or not, but I’m here to tell 98% of the population doesn’t realize “happily ever after” really IS achievable!

Most of these people encounter – on their quest to achieve that elusive state of happiness – is a mindset their happiness hinges on just ONE thing. Like, “If only I found my soul mate, I’d be happy forever.” And after they find their spouse, it then changes to, “If only I had my dream career, I’d find happiness.”

So, they spend their whole lives looking for the next “thing” guaranteed to make them happy. And in the process, they miss all those things in their life every day, along their path, right in front of them, that could be the true source of their joy and contentment!

In today’s world, happiness represents a far-off goal – the ultimate destination. “Happy” seems to be nothing but the carrot right in front of your nose… always remaining juuuust out of reach.

Truthfully, there are people out there who just don’t want you to be happy. In fact, a majority of people in high places would prefer you to stay stuck in your rut, dumbed-out, numbed-out and just barely getting by. Why? Because then they can sell you solutions to all your “problems.”

I’m declaring today, enough is enough! I’m here to tell you, happiness is not determined by your circumstances. It’s determined by YOU. If you’ve been around the DaniJohnson.com community or interacted with our amazing clients on Facebook, you see the proof! We have countless stories of people who have restored relationships, paid-off debt, found financial independence and brought harmony to their family. These are the true causes for happiness, celebration and positive attitudes!

There’s nothing wrong with being happy, or wanting to better your life. And you can start right now, by taking these steps to increase your happiness:

1. Choose to be happy: Recognize happiness is a choice. You can choose to let little things get you down, tie your happiness to the decisions and actions of others, or you can decide to let it go! Choose positivity, choose life, choose happiness.
2. Cultivate a culture of gratitude: Do you have an amazing spouse or beautiful, uniquely-gifted children? Relish this and daily celebrate the awesomeness in your life! What do you have that others love and would swap places with you for?
3. Don’t hold grudges: Choose to forgive, even if others have not asked for forgiveness or apologized. You don’t need to hang on to their stuff and that hurt will do nothing to improve your life or help you find happiness.
4. Feed yourself positive things: What you feed will flourish, what you neglect will die. If you feed and focus on the positive things in your life, you will see growth in that area. If you only focus on the bad, negative things, you might notice major growth in THAT area of your life.
5. Surround yourself with positive people: Birds of a feather flock together. If your family, friends and community are focusing on the good in life, instead of being “Debby Downers” who always linger on the bad, you will see a drastic change in your life. Have you ever heard the term, misery loves company? DON’T BE ITS COMPANY!
6. Do something meaningful: When your life, your career or actions have a higher purpose, it makes you feel more accomplished. Whether it’s spending time with your loved ones, spending time working for a good cause or spending time on something of great importance to you.

Today, I want you to embrace happiness! Choose to stop living in misery, because it never got anyone, anywhere. Unhappiness keeps you stuck in debt, focused on material things and basically just dependent, overworked, overstressed and miserable!

Declare your own independence today and spread the good word: BE HAPPY! Together, we can beat the odds and make happiness the norm. Visit the Dani Johnson Facebook page and tell me what makes YOU happy and encourage everyone you know to choose happiness, by sharing this post!

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In great faith,