Many times, we say that the most important part of life is being happy. Well, do you really know the definition of happy?

Recently, someone told me that happiness was a choice. My first thought was, "Wait, what? No it's not!" I've always thought that happiness was based solely on what happened around me and how those things affected me. If it was a negative experience, then I would not be as happy. If it was positive, then I'd be happier. If I was with kind, genuine people, then my level of happiness would be a lot higher than if I was with fake people who really didn't care.

But as I thought about it a little more, I realized they were right. I have the choice to let things and people affect me. My happiness does not rely on the things around me. It relies simply on how I react to it.

Charles Swindoll once said, "Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it."

This is exactly what I needed to see today. This quote proved to me that my happiness is my choice. Of course, the people, things and experiences you surround yourself with may affect your level of happiness, but they will not decide it. This is all about you. Your life, your decisions and your happiness. No one else's.

I think we're often so caught up in the messiness and busyness of life that we forget that we can change any of those things at a moment's notice. We don't have to deal with what we're given. We can accept it, but we are all capable of making a change, no matter how difficult it can be.

If you don't like your job or how you feel after going there Monday through Friday, then it is your decision to stay or go. If the people you call your "friends" treat you like dirt and are not the kind of people you enjoy being around, then it is your choice to cut them off and find new friends. If you are not OK with how you feel about your body and how it looks, then it is in your hands to change those things. If the relationship you are in no longer makes you happy or meets your needs, then it's your choice to continue on or end it. You can take the things life gives you and make them successful or you can make them fail; it's up to you.

I'm not trying to tell you that life would be easier if you just went about it differently because I know that I couldn't do that either. What I am trying to say is that life is full of choices. Happiness is just one of them. But it's important to realize that it is no one else's fault that you are unhappy. They may make you unhappy, but it is your choice to let them make you feel that way.

So, my challenge to you is this: choose happiness. It's hard, I can tell you that, but it's incredibly rewarding. Weed out the bad people, experiences, etc. Happiness is a choice we make and create for ourselves. Don't let the little things affect you so much. After all, they are not worth choosing to be unhappy. This week, do yourself a favor. Wake up and choose happiness.