I spend a lot of time thinking.  It's one of the reasons this site is named what it is. Technically, we all spend a lot of time thinking. Our heads are seldom very quiet for very long. If you're not convinced, try meditating for a few minutes. So, my point isn't simply that you think, it's what you tend to think about. You know at some level that what you think matters, but do you really pay attention to it? Is it another one of those things that gets lost in the busyness and distractions of your life? It might be right up there with eating better, working out and getting enough sleep. It's another good idea, but it's hard work, and where do you start? Maybe it's not that big a deal. You can deal with it later.

The thing is, you want to be happy, or happier, and not paying attention to how you think and what you think about is definitely making that a lot harder. It's one of the ways you actively create your own unhappiness. Let me show you how. It starts first thing in the morning. You wake up. Have you smacked the snooze button a few times? What are the first things that are coming to mind? I need to go to the bathroom. I need coffee! Work. The people who drain and irritate you. Money. All the stuff you'd really rather not have to do today.

Maybe all that's brightened up by a fantasy or two of good things that aren't going to happen and then the “real world” intrudes again. As you get ready for your day, you're thinking the same kind of thoughts you've had every morning for longer than you can remember. How do they set the stage for your day? Happy? Stressed? Angry? Just frustrated? Depressed? Worried? Anxious? What are you carrying into your day?

How then does your day go? You're doing the same things, with the same people, feeling the same feelings, thinking the same thoughts, remembering the same stuff. Around and around it goes. You're the last dog on the sled team and the view never changes. Why doesn't it change? You never change. What goes on in your mind never changes. It's one memory based thought, feeling and behavior habit after the other.

There's one thing that's constant in your life. There's one thing all your difficulties have in common: YOU. Your life will start changing when you do. If you want to start attracting new people into your life, transform your relationships, capitalize on new opportunities and simply be happier, change your thought habits. Here's the chain:

Sow a thought and you reap an action;
sow an act and you reap a habit;
sow a habit and you reap a character;
sow a character and you reap a destiny.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Your happiness is waiting.