Happiness

Early this week I read the essay "If Fat Could Talk" by Toyna Leigh (http://christinekane.com/blog/if-fat-could-talk/) The one thing that really resonated with me was the statement that fat doesn't "thrive in happy environments."  As I pondered this throughout the week I realized that all too often I postpone being happy until my fat is gone.  I have a deep subconscious belief that it is not right for fat people to be happy.  The more I thought about this the more I realized that if I ever want to fully live life I need to ditch this belief.  The problem is - changing your thinking is not enough.  I need to change my doing as well.  This led me to an internet search on the topic of happiness, which ultimately led to Gretchen Rubin's book "The Happiness Project."  The theme of the book is that we are all responsible for our own happiness.  Part of the happiness we experience in life is the result of our personality and nature - but a lot of it is about how we live our lives and the choices we make.  We have to choose to change the actions and thinking that lead to unhappiness.  I have the sneaking suspicion that if I start a book discussion group on this book and spend the next few months to a year on working to change my actions I will find that some of my weight melts away; I think I may be too busy to focus on the wrong things.  I'm looking forward to putting some of the suggestions in the  book into practice.  You might want to take a look at the Happiness Project website (www.happiness-project.com)