“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” –Abraham Lincoln
Did you know that if I knew everything about your future life situation — how much money you’d make, what kinds of things you’d own, what events (good or bad) you’d be walking through, etc. — I could only predict 10% of your long-term happiness?
In his popular TED Talk, Shawn Achor reveals that research has shown that happiness in life is 90% internal and only 10% external. Meaning, even if everything on the outside seems to be perfect, that would only be a small fraction of what actually makes up lasting happiness. According to the research, 90% of someone’s long-term happiness in not based on the circumstances we experience, but rather how we process those circumstances.
Which means that the popular saying, “life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond,” is in fact accurate.
So regardless of what we do have or don’t have, or what we do experience or don’t experience, we still have a choice of what we will make of it. Of course, life is made up of plenty of things that are difficult and tiring and sad. But in the midst of every situation, how we choose to respond is something we still control. And it’s that choice that ultimately determines the long-term happiness we experience.