There are thousands of posts, articles, and books that are written to outline what it takes to be happy. What is happiness? Can we truly define it? Some people seem to only be happy when they appear unhappy.
I believe that happiness is a choice. Before we can make that choice to be happy, we need to accept who we are. It took a long time before I was able to accept who I was, even if there wasn’t any real reason not to.
To accept myself as I am, I had to understand: Who am I?
Who I am today, isn’t who I was yesterday. Growth and change are inevitable.
First and foremost, I am a father and husband.
I am a computer geek and science fiction/fantasy nerd. I love books, movies, and magazines within those genres.
I serve others. This is a very broad statement, but my entire life has been one of service. As a young man I went on mission trips and served people in other places. I served in the army for 21 years. I currently work at a non-profit school serving the students, staff, and faculty. I also am actively serving scouting and a few different veteran organizations. Service and is part of who I am.
I have a new-found love of mud runs, having completed 3 this year. This nice thing about most of these, is they help you stay fit and active when serving a good cause.
It can’t all be good. I am a pack rat. I have paperwork from over 22 years ago.
I have a tendency to procrastinate when I can.
My truck normally looks like a tornado occurred in the back seat, and somehow dropped some of the stuff off on my desk.
This is who I am. Knowing that these things make up who I am and accepting them, allows me to put myself on the road to happiness.
If you can’t accept who you are, then change who you are. Outside influences might have helped get you to where you are now, but it is up to you to decide to change and decide to be happy from here on out.
