Make it Your Choice

Would you ever leave a life-changing decision (for you) in someone else’s hands?  Would you let anyone else determine your future? Of course not.  Why would you be foolish enough to let someone else control something that would majorly affect you.  So why would you let someone else determine your happiness?  

That is the exact argument that Eremionkhale Omono, an African news writer,  is making in his article “Finding Happiness in the Face of Harsh Realities”.  He focuses on the belief that Aristotle had that “Happiness depends upon ourselves”.  He emphasizes the fact that you can’t just automatically attach everyone you meet to your daily happiness.  “The world does not revolve around you, other people have their own lives to live, so detach your happiness from others' reactions to you and you will be just fine” (Omono) sums up his whole article.  He wants you to realize that other people cannot determine your happiness, it is only up to you.  

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He gives a great real-life example of a girl he knows named Sarah who faced many struggles early in her life. After losing both of her parents and being sexually abused many times before she was 20 years old, you would have thought that Sarah would give up then.  Instead, she didn’t let the actions and negative thoughts build up in her mind.  “Today she is better off” (Omono).  

“Your happiness is solely determined by you, not by prevailing circumstances, make the choice to be happy in everything, forget about negative thoughts and surround yourself with positive minded people and those who believe in your dreams” (Omono). It seems to be a common theme that happiness is indeed determined by yourself, not by material goods.