I will be happy when...

Go ahead. Finish that senetnce. Fill in the blank. I know it has been on your mind lately. The things we need to accomplish before true happiness walks into our life. The bills we need to pay before we can really start enjoying life. The people that need to change so that our lives can be filled with more grace and ease. The love that needs to appear so that we can feel more fulfilled. The house that needs to sell, the car we need to buy, the money we need to make, the work we need to catch up on. The vacation we want to take, the shoes we want to buy, the argument we need to resolve, the car we need to fix, the relationships we need to mend.

I know all about this. Up until a few years back, I lived this way. I even had lists. That's right. Lists. And timelines. I had sheets of paper of all of the things in my life that were holding me back from true happiness and then under each one, I made a plan. And it sounded something like this... I would be happy when I got married. When I had kids. When I bought a house. I'd be happy when I made X amount of money...when I paid off this particular bill or bought this particular dress. Then I'd be happy when I got a divorce, when I moved, when I got a new job, when I lost 10 pounds. And you know what? I did all of that and was left curiously wondering why I wasn't happy yet.

In fact, I spent incredible amounts of time investing everything I had in believing I wasn't good enough or didn't deserve true happiness until I crossed off everything on my list.

Maybe this sounds familar.

You see...I spent so much time thinking about my future and what it might look like that I forgot to enjoy the moment. And looking back...I missed out on some pretty sweet things. I was so caught up in the day to day worry that beauty just passed me by. I was so caught up in my own thoughts and the endless chatter about what I needed to be doing in order to be happy that it didn't even register that I could create happiness right in that moment. And at anytime I wanted.

Stay with me.

Our thoughts are the most powerful tool we have. They dictate our reality and every experience we have is filtered through these thoughts.  We take these thoughts and attach meaning, feelings, emotions and then proceed accordingly. Sometimes our thoughts keep us stuck in places we don't need to be. And sometimes we can use them to talk ourselves out of the bullshit that is all around us. And believe me...there's a lot of bullshit floating around these days. The point is...right now...right in this moment...we can find happiness. It's right here. Right in front of you. And it starts with us.

Exhale.

I get it. I know it's tough to set aside all of the worry. Things are changing, as they always have. And they always will, my friends. But we have one shot here and it goes quick. So having negative thoughts, playing the victim, being resentful, holding on to the past, being worried about the future, planning your happiness for some future date will find you at the end of this journey with a bunch or regrets and a whole lot of wasted time. And we just don't get enough time here on this earth to waste it.

It's time to start becoming aware of the stories you have been telling yourself. Ones that you have held onto with ninja skill that no longer serve you. Ones that aren't really even yours to begin with. Step up friends...you are the author of your own life and it is happening right now.  Rewrite a new story that puts you smack dab in the center of complete awesomeness....

This is all you. You get to say what you want your life to look like. You get to say who you want in it and who is just not worth your energy. You get to unpack your suitcase and decide what stays and what goes. You get to say whether you will create happiness in each moment that we have been given...even in small little ways. You get to say that.

And given that option, why wouldn't you want to love the crap out of your life, kick fear and worry to the side and go forward bravely. You got this. And really...you have time for nothing else.