Today is my day to post in the happiness group about how you can foster your level of happiness. I read Cheryl Sandberg’s commencement speech to Berkley this morning while sitting in my physical therapy appointment. She addressed the students, not with her lessons in life but her lessons in death. While dealing with her bereavement at the loss of her husband more than a year ago, she learned some incredible lessons that I think we all take for granted.
One of the biggest things I took away from her words were: ‘Think about how much worse things could be’. That’s the reality check we all need in life. Perplexed, she responded to her friend saying ‘Are you kidding, how much worse could they be?’ and his response was ‘Your children could have been in the car with your husband when he had his Arrhythmia’. When we think about life being worse, our minds move into the mode of ‘grateful’ and ‘appreciation’ for what we have, not what we don’t have. While I was annoyed to be spending an hour of my morning sitting in PT as opposed to working out and sweating at the Crossfit gym, I took some of Cheryl’s advice. IT COULD BE WORSE! I could have torn my shoulder as opposed to just overusing it. I would have had 6 months of PT as opposed to the mere 6 weeks (which are thankfully almost done). And I still can work every muscle in my lower body which is what burns the most calories anyway. Research has proven time and time again that people who find gratitude and appreciation are more resilient and are happier and healthier.
If you’ve seen any of my recent ‘family’ Facebook posts, you’ve seen the new friend that I’ve made with my future step-sons mother. Brian and I have been together for over 2 years now and it’s taken us a while to get here but she needed time. Time to realize that ‘things could be worse’… I could be worse. I could be mean and nasty and uncooperative. But i’m not. I’m loving and forgiving and kind. And no matter how long it took her to be come around, I was waiting with open arms and a smile to embrace her, befriend her and partner with her in the co-parenting of her son.
So next time you’re feeling down, or sad or hurting… just think about how much worse it could be and then write down or make a mental note of the things you are truly grateful for and the things you appreciate in your life. Better yet, start a journal and write them down so when you tend to forget, you can look back and remind yourself. #choosehappiness #itcouldbeworse
If you’d like to join our next Happiness Group event (it’s free and open to ANYONE), click here for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1285732538121063/
A link to the full article on Sheryl’s Commencement Speech: http://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-berkeley-commencement-speech-2016-5
wthayley 
Time has a way of showing us what really matters!! It’s a true fact that I have personally experienced in my life and that I have embraced with an open heart. Although, it took time to get to this point, we are here with pure hearts. Like I have mentioned once before, the best things a mother could have is peace and her child’s happiness. Hayley, you are right, it could be worse… Choose happy!!! 😉