A little over a year ago, I was on a flight home from Paris, crying at the prospect of returning home to a job I hated. I later realized that I wasn’t only dreading the return to misery. I was mourning the fact that my happiness would be stuffed back in the closet, locked away until my next vacation.
I’d been happy in Paris. Truly happy. Just like I felt truly happy whenever I traveled. Whether I was on a cruise, exploring Europe, or visiting my son in Colorado, I was a more alive version of the unfulfilled me going through the motions back at home.
Part of me knew I deserved to feel that way for more than four weeks a year. I wanted that kind of joy in my life every day. Not just in moments carved out between long stretches of exhaustion. I knew a different kind of life was possible because other people were already living it. I wanted it for myself too.
I was ready to choose happiness. I was ready to choose myself. That didn’t mean I suddenly knew what to do or that I had a grand plan. It meant I stopped ignoring my inner voice telling me that I deserved more from my life than survival.
If you’ve been following along, you may have read about that tearful plane ride home from Paris. If not, you can read more about it here.
The morning after I returned home, I woke up with one clear thought: you have to quit today. It was an unwavering conviction and nothing was going to stop me this time.
But when I logged into the computer in my home office, my resolve started to falter the way it always did. Then I read my boss’s message. Things had gone badly while I was away, she wrote, and she needed to discuss some changes. I took that message as my green light. My resolve was back in full force. I responded that I had a change I needed to discuss as well. She called immediately. And I gave my notice.
The path out wasn’t as straightforward as I’d imagined. They needed me to stay on for six more months to cover my boss’s maternity leave—which came with a generous bonus that gave me the breathing room to plan my next chapter. My departure didn’t ultimately happen on my own terms, but that’s a story for another day.
What matters is that once I finally acted on what my inner voice had been telling me for years, it was the first step in a series of events that led me to the happy every day version of myself I’d been seeking.
The Ripple Effect of Living Happy
Now that my days are spent doing work I love, I feel lighter. I laugh more easily when I’m out with friends. I’m more present in conversations with my family. When I’m out jogging, I smile and wave at neighbors with a friendly hello instead of running with my head down, avoiding eye contact, like I used to. I also have less anxiety and I sleep much better. Now if I wake in the middle of the night, I fall back asleep easily. And I wake up feeling fully refreshed.
I don’t write this to brag. I write this to inspire. Because I truly believe that happiness doesn’t just improve your own life, it improves the lives of everyone around you. It becomes a snowball effect in the best possible way. That was my theory, so I decided to look into it.
It turns out I was right. Happiness strengthens your capacity to meet life’s demands. You have more to contribute to your relationships. You listen better. You care more deeply. This strengthens family bonds, friendships, and community connections.
Think about the people who have impacted you most. They’re rarely the ones who were burned out, resentful, or running on empty. They’re the ones who were fully alive. The ones grounded in purpose and generous with their time. The ones who made you feel seen. When someone is truly happy, that energy ripples outward. It improves how they treat others, how they solve problems, and how they show up in the world.
The world doesn’t need more exhausted people doing work they resent. It needs more happy people who are awake and engaged. People who have the desire to offer their talents from a place of wholeness. Choosing happiness isn’t an indulgence—it’s a way of honoring both yourself and the life you’re here to contribute to. In short, being happy makes the world a better place.
Let Happiness Be Your Compass
Happiness is my compass now. Not a destination I’m chasing, but the thing I consult before I make a decision, take on a commitment, or choose how to spend my days.
My old wiring still resurfaces sometimes. The guilt will try to raise its hand. The voice that says wanting more is selfish will tickle the back of my mind. But I’m getting better and better at choosing things that make me happy.
Because here’s what I know now that I didn’t know when I was crying on that plane: choosing happiness isn’t selfish. It’s the most generous thing you can do. You cannot pour from an empty cup. You cannot give your best to the people you love, the work that matters, or the world that needs you when you are running on empty and slowly disappearing inside a life that was never really yours.
The world gets more from you when you’re happy. And you deserve to find out just how much more you have to give.
If this article resonated with you, my book You Don’t Have to Stay explores what happens when you stop settling for survival and start building a life that actually feels like your own. It’s part personal story, part practical encouragement for anyone feeling stuck, burned out, or ready for something more. You can learn more about the book here.
You can absolutely know what needs to be done, but the timing will present itself when it's time.