by Lori Deschene

Research indicates lottery winners are no happier than people who didn’t win, and in many cases, become depressed in the years following their win.

Scientists have surmised that we all have a baseline level of happiness—a range of joy we’ll stay within regardless of our external circumstances. The greatest factor in determining this joy is our mental attitude.

If you’d like to alter your baseline, instead of trying to change your circumstances, change the way you interpret them.

It sounds much easier said than done because it is.  If you’ve always seen the glass as half-empty, you likely won’t transform into a positive thinker overnight.  But you can take one simple step toward more positive thinking.

Pay special attention today to the way you react to things that happen to you.  Acknowledge negative situations, and then realise you don’t have to respond negatively.  You may even be able to see it as a blessing in disguise.

If you daughter gets into a minor accident in your car, you have an opportunity to teach her how to rebound from errors.  If your coworker gets the promotion you wanted, you have an extra incentive to show your boss what you can do — which may help you more in the long run.

We can’t always control what happens to us.  We can control how we respond — which ultimately dictates how we feel.

Do happy. It’s something you’re due.

This post is republished with permission.  Find more of Lori Deschene’s writing at tinybuddha.com. Read the original post here