I want to let you in on a little secret:

Happiness has almost nothing to do with your life circumstances.

It doesn’t matter what is going on in your life, your ability to be happy has far more to do with your mindset – with the thoughts you choose to think – than with the external circumstances around you.

Unfortunately, we forget this simple fact, and as we go about our modern lives, we often focus on the things that aren’t going well for us.

When we do, we create unnecessary stress. We beat ourselves up. We wear ourselves down…and, in the process, we block ourselves off from the natural, inner joy that is available to each and every single one of us.

My aim is to help you re-focus on that joy…to remember that you always have the ability to choose happiness.

So, today I thought I’d share my list of simple reasons to be happy with life. Unlike most lists like this, I’m not going to share a list of things to focus on, or activities you can do to raise you energy.

Rather, I want to share the fundamental beliefs that I hold, which allow me to choose joy for myself, every single day.

It’s a sort of “Happiness Manifesto,” if you will:

Ready?

10 Happiness Beliefs You Don’t Want To Live Without

1. Joy Creates Prosperity

This is the first and (I think) the most fundamental belief to develop if you truly want to live a life of outrageous joy.

It requires you to accept that the solution to any problem comes from your mindset. If you feel stuck, you need to raise your energy, and tune-in to the natural guidance that will inspire and motivate you, every step along the way.

When you accept that joy creates prosperity, you make it easier to enter into a state of flow, and you make rapid, sustainable progress towards your goals.

Related Post: How Important is Positive Thinking, Really?

2. Joy Is Always Available To Me.

The second belief to create for yourself is that joy is always available to you. It is always there, in the same way the sun is always there, even on a rainy day.

Once you accept this fact, you can realize that all it takes to feel happy is to stop thinking the thoughts that are blocking you from that happiness. When you stop cutting yourself off from your own energy, you will experience more joy.

It’s that simple.

3. I Can Choose To Be Happy, Anytime I Want To.

Since joy is always available to you, your ability to connect to it is always your choice.

Once you learn how to connect to this inner joy, you can start to practice it, until you know that you can always choose to feel happy…even under the worst conditions.

Ultimately, it’s just about remember to return to the source of that happiness, over and over again.

4. I Have a Responsibility to Choose Joy, Every Single Day.

Another belief that will help you to level-up your happiness is to decide that being happy is your responsibility.

Accepting happiness as a fundamental responsibility changes the game, because it shifts you into a state of prioritizing it as much as you prioritize other responsibilities in your life.

When you make this shift, you start to view all of your daily actions differently, and you start to find newer and better ways to maintain a high state of energy, all of the time.

Learn more about how to follow your intuition by trusting your inner guidance.

5. Happiness Is Not Hard. It Is a Habit.

I think one of the biggest obstacles to people experiencing outstanding happiness in their daily lives is thinking that being happy is difficult.

A lot of times, we subconsciously think that other people can be happy, but we, ourselves, can’t. We think we don’t have what it takes, or that we could be happy if only some condition changed in our life.

The fact is: that’s total BS.

Happiness is a habit, plain and simple. Anyone can learn it.

If you make the choice to be happy – by following a few simple steps, and by practicing the tools that will guarantee you raise your mood – you WILL increase your daily sense of life satisfaction and fulfillment…just as you WILL build muscle if you go to the gym every day.

It’s not “hard.” It’s a habit.

Try these Easy Happiness Habits for a list of simple daily actions to be happy.

6. Negative Thinking Is NOT My Fault.

Another essential happiness belief to develop is to understand that negative thinking is NOT your fault.

Everyone has negative thoughts.

Sometimes those thoughts are really subtle, and other times they are obvious and intense.

But, here’s the thing:

The more you beat yourself up for having the negative thought, the hard it is to move past that thought. If you think you “shouldn’t” have them, or if you think it’s your fault that the thought came to mind, you won’t be able to release it, and it will start to haunt you and torment you, over and over again.

But, if you accept that “thoughts happen,” you can put yourself into a position where you can take back control of your mind, and choose a better-feeling state.

Click Here to Learn How To Stop Negative Thoughts

7. Now Is The Right Time to Strengthen My Joy.

As you begin to prioritize the feeling of happiness in your day to day life, it’s important that you start to make the choice for joy right now.

All too often, we have a tendency to think that our happiness must wait. We push it back until we achieve X –> and then once we achieve that goal, we often push it back again!

You have to flip that cycle.

Now is the only moment in which you can be happy. You have to empower yourself to make that choice, and then you have to commit to doing whatever it takes to make that choice for yourself, starting immediately.

8. Prioritizing My Joy Is The Single, Most Important Thing For Me To Do.

This belief goes hand in hand with the last one.

In order to effect real, lasting change in your life, and transform into the calm, confident, and happy person you deserve to be, you have to decide that your happiness is the single, most important thing for you to do.

As you begin to prioritize your happiness, right now, you will start to see that nothing is worth the sacrifice of your true joy.

9. As I Improve My Own Thoughts, I Will Help Others Improve As Well.

Part of your responsibility to raise your own energy and start to live from a higher level of consciousness also comes back to the service that you provide for others.

Some people think that being happy is selfish, but the reality is: the only way you can every truly help another person is to live at the highest possible state that you can.

10. When I Tune-In to The Joy Within, I Am On Track Towards My Goals.

Last but certainly not least, understand that your inner joy is like a compass.

It always points you in the right direction.

Anytime you feel stuck or confused or don’t know what step to take, you can use your own, intuitive sense of happiness in order to find your way.

Your emotional guidance system tells you that you are on track, all day, every day.

How To Be Happy, Right Now

These 10 beliefs really are the cornerstone of a happy and prosperous life.

Once you understand the beliefs you want to cultivate, it’s time to put them into action.

As I wrote above, it’s essential to understand that happiness is ALWAYS a choice, and this choice does not have to be difficult.

It just requires that you have the right tools, strategies, and techniques to find that happiness, anytime you choose.

I suggest you get started by following along with the exercise in this video.

Or, click here to learn more about Happiness University, and how The Joy Within can help.