When I had brain surgery nearly five years ago and lost much of my daily functioning – including speech – I discovered true happiness. And then I found myself thriving all across my life!

You know what? Happiness has nothing to do with events or circumstances.

Nothing!

Happiness is a way of life, a way of being in the world knowing that nothing that happens has any power over you except the power you give it by assigning meaning to the event.
Happiness is not about circumstances.

Do you think maybe I had good reason to see life as an unfair series of events when I lost my ability to talk, to swallow, to walk, to write and to stand up on my own?

Thank goodness I did not feel that way.

I doubt I could have healed had I crawled into a hole thinking life sucked. In fact, I know that fact is the truth as my physical and speech therapists asked me to write my book, THRIVE! Don’t Just Survive, to share how I live allowing my recovery from such major life-altering trauma in record time. they said my story and mindset could really help their other patients to heal.

I remember that day. I was lying in bed, struggling to breathe, unable to speak, needing a walker to get around and hoping I never fell because I was not able to get up. I was smiling. Yeah, smiling. And, are you ready for this?

I was high! High like I get when I workout and those super endorphins fly through my system.

In that moment I realized I had discovered the secret of happiness, that I was already living full on in happiness. With that as my starting point every day I was able to move into healing at lightning speed.

Understand that I didn’t get my body and functioning back as it used to be. Nope.

Happiness is never about circumstances.

Never.