Choices

"Life is meant to be enjoyed, not simply endured." --Joseph Smith

You want to be happy? CHOOSE to be happy.

You want to have a crappy day? CHOOSE to have a crappy day.

You want to be scared? CHOOSE to be scared.

You want to be madly & deeply in love with your husband/wife? CHOOSE to be madly & deeply in love.

You want to be mad at someone? CHOOSE to be mad at someone.

You want to be forgiving and patient? CHOOSE to be forgiving and patient.

Life is all about CHOICES. Having a good life is simply that simple.

I think the Book of Mormon puts what I'm trying to say into PERFECT words (2nd Nephi 2: 26-27)

26 And the ^aMessiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may^bredeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are ^credeemed from the fall they have become ^dfree forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the ^elaw at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

27 Wherefore, men are ^afree according to the ^bflesh; and ^callthings are ^dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to ^echoose ^fliberty and eternal ^glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be ^hmiserable like unto himself.

Why wouldn't we use our agency, our precious gift from Heavenly Father, to choose a GOOD life?

If you don't believe me... try it one day. Wake up in the morning and say to yourself "this is going to be a great day!" Smile, fake your way through it if you need to... and you'll find that you have a great day.

You ruin dinner? Choose not to be frustrated...choose to laugh. You were bored at work? Choose to be thankful you even have a job. Someone says something mean, choose not to become offended.

There's no reason NOT to be happy. This life is a precious and wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father and I know SO many of my days have been wasted because I simply CHOSE not to have a good day.

Choose to act instead of being acted upon. Choose JOY.

I sometimes get worried that people may think my life is perfect because for the most part my blog is happy and always saying that life is good...but the truth is, NO ONE has a perfect life. But we can CHOOSE to view it in a positive light and count our blessings!

I do not have a perfect marriage, but we are are madly in love with each other and we are striving to make our marriage better every single day. I have a job, but is it my dream job?...nope, but it's a great job and I am so thankful to even have one! I am a college grad...but do I have THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of student loans?...yep! I do live in a really wonderful place I like to refer to as paradise...but I basically have no family or friends. Do you see how I could turn all of these situations that I find myself in into either a miserable life or a happy life? Why not CHOOSE to be happy!!

We are meant to have trials and struggles because Heavenly Father is refining us and making us stronger. How boring would life be if it was perfect? But I really try to focus on the GOOD things in my life that make it SEEM perfect to me... instead of focusing on the NOT SO GOOD things that could make my life SEEM awful to me. It's all about the way I CHOOSE to view my life. And guess what? I'm choosing to view my life as imperfectly PERFECT. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm going to be better tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a great day. I hope yours will be too <3

Life is GOOD.

P.S. President Monson also has a really great talk about this topic. Read it here.