Is Happiness a Choice?

                I’ve thought a lot about the question “is happiness a choice?” a lot over the course of this semester, and I’ve come to the conclusion that happiness isn’t necessarily a choice, in a sense that one can look at the window and say: “Wow, today is a miserable day, but I’m going to choose to be happy” and have that work. I’ve tried multiple times throughout the semester to do so, but it hasn’t really worked out in making me suddenly happy with no further thought or effort. Through my own personal experience, I realize much more clearly that outside influences do play a HUGE role in happiness; environmental and biological factors are very real and do very much influence the way that we feel in our daily lives.

                That being said, I do feel like there are certain factors that remain under our control, independent of outside factors. My personal interpretation of the concept of agency as taught in the scriptures requires a certain realm of inner control. But that inner control isn’t just a switch that toggles between “happy” and “sad”. If such a switch did exists, we would rightfully call ourselves mental midgets whenever we felt a little blue, and we would say those with depression are simply choosing to feel sad. No, such a switch doesn’t exist. But our minds do have the power to take on certain attitudes and actions which I feel can bring joy in most situations. Having an attitude of gratitude is one such conscience choice that can make a huge difference in our mindset. Accepting and applying the Atonement of Jesus Christ is another. Willingly serving others is also a great way to minimize pessimistic thinking. To be blunt, I believe that living the gospel of Jesus Christ has the most power to make one happy.

Yet even the gospel doesn’t directly equate to happiness. There is no guarantee that doing all those things will automatically result in pure joy, or an instant increase of emotions. It’s not a guaranteed formula that gospel living means a perfect life free of sorrow. It’s simply the best formula I know that can get you within striking distance. I think that’s all the control anyone ever has: you can sure get pretty dang close to happiness through exercising your agency, but in the end, happiness isn’t a choice, because there is that outside 1% that isn’t under your control. Without the proper use of agency, there is a very slim chance that you will be happy. With the proper use of agency, you’re much more likely to be happy, but it’s still no guarantee. So keep striving to do the right, and if sometimes you feel disappointed because happiness seems out of reach, don’t give up; the gospel method works, but it never promises not to give you the ups and downs of life. Experiencing both the good and the bad is just another beautiful aspect of what it means to be alive.