Happiness is Now

I have this problem. I like to daydream and constantly imagine what the future is going to be like. Like when I'm running, I like to think about how awesome I'm going to feel after and how much more awesome that chocolate cake is going to taste (so maybe not the best thing to be thinking of). For me, looking to the future is a great source of inspiration. But as I've been going through the past few weeks I've also noticed that it's become a hindrance as well.
I find myself sometimes thinking "I'll be happy when this happens" or "I'll be happy when that happens." I keep waiting and waiting to be happy, not even realizing that I can have happiness right now. Right in this moment.
We can have happiness now.
Who says that we have to wait for it to come? Who says that we can't be happy in the moment? If we keep waiting for the future to bring us happiness it will never come. I've experienced this. As soon as "this" or "that" happen, we find another reason to wait for happiness because surely, we could be a lot happier than we feel.
I'm working on looking at happiness as a choice. It is a choice. There aren't many things we can control in the world. We can't control when the rain is going to stop or when we're going to get a promotion or when a loved one leaves this earth. Things just happen. Life happens. We can't let it pass us by as we wait for some fantasized happiness that exists in the future. We need to choose to be happy right now, in this very moment.
Put a smile on your face. Sing a happy song. Eat a piece of chocolate. Make the future now and enjoy being happy. I know that as we do this our trials will become more bearable. We will be able to recognize the countless blessings that Heavenly Father has given to us and enjoy the small and simple things in life.

"The path toward fulfilling our divine destiny as sons and daughters of God is an eternal one. My dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, we must begin to walk that eternal path today; we cannot take for granted one single day." Dieter F. Uchtdorf