I don't believe you can just decide to be Happy and it will come about; (keeping in mind that Happiness is intertwined with Truth and Wisdom). I do believe you can decide to be cheerful, and either be cheerful or successfully fake it; and that is okay. In either case (cheerfulness or Happiness) the variables outside of our control that bombard us daily, add a degree of unavoidable unpredictability.

... But that's not what I want to talk about.

When I say 'Decisive Happiness' I am referring to our ability to make decisions and the role this plays in Happiness. Simply put - where one falls on the spectrum of indecisiveness-------decisiveness will vary with each situation, and is to a large extent dependent on how easily you believe you will be able to move past potential regret. In theory, the more important a decision, the more we fear regret, and the more we agonize over the decision. Some though are so afraid to make any kind of mistake (regret) that they seldom make a decision. In reality making no decision is making a decision; but we fool ourselves into thinking that if something goes wrong as a result of our 'no decision' we can blame someone else. If this is familiar we should prompt ourselves to move past this indecision with the reminder that we learn more from our mistakes than from our successes; (I learn a lot every day).

So if procrastination or 'no decision' cannot be used as an excuse, the challenge remains to properly balance the agonizing indecisiveness that comes pre-decision with any regret that may come post-decision. In other words we must weigh potential consequences (the importance of the decision) and appropriately debate, research, and seek Wisdom so if we do make a mistake, regret is minimized and we can more quickly move on. Obviously, the more important a decision, the more care that must be taken; i.e. the more patience we must have with due diligence. We only need to take care that it is an 'active' patience and not procrastination disguised as patience.

... But that's not what I want to talk about; (though I think we're getting close).

Studies show that we (humans) tend to assign more value to present/here and now rewards than we do to future rewards. Additionally we typically deflate future benefits when weighed against present cost. Diet and exercise are perfect examples: we want ice cream today (present) and plan to diet tomorrow (future). Some studies show that future value is generally devalued by half its actual benefit, so if exercise has a present cost of 6 and the future benefits of exercise are in reality valued at 8, we will perceive that future value as a 4; therefore we do not exercise, thinking that the (present) cost is greater than the (future) benefit.

... And that's what I want to talk about.

When we make a decision we must take into account the future and value it properly. Patience as Willpower will lead us to more beneficial decisions, closer to Truth and Wisdom and Happiness. And not just us, but those around us as well. If we are in a position to make decisions that impact others we are obligated to utilize strength, discipline, and patience as willpower to lead by example, thus moving us all towards Happiness. If we are indecisive due to procrastination (or worse - apathy) disguised as patience or due diligence, the results are at best counter-productive and at worst destructive.

Patience as Willpower.

... And that's what I'm talking about!