Happiness is a choice we make every day

I haven’t written an article for SA People yet this year. Not because there hasn’t been anything to say – but because sometimes the right starting point doesn’t present itself.

There has been so much difficulty so early in the year, both locally and around the world. It’s felt uncomfortable to say that things are “okay” when, for many people, they clearly aren’t.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a YouTube video shared on Facebook by Josh Steenekamp. It’s part of a series called The Good Turn, and today’s topic is deceptively simple:

‘Happiness is a choice we make every day‘

The video that sparked this reflection is part of The Good Turn, and it’s well worth a few minutes of your time:

That sentence stayed with me.

Josh is an entrepreneur, a dad, and an old friend – someone I met years ago at our family holiday resort in the Eastern Cape, when we were both much younger, in what is still one of my favourite parts of South Africa. Life has a way of looping people back into your world at exactly the moment you need to hear what they’re saying.

In the video, Josh speaks honestly about happiness – not as a destination, but as a daily practice. Not something handed to us by circumstances, success, or other people, but something shaped by the choices we make.

And that’s where this idea really landed for me.

If we are truly in control of the choices we make each day, then we have far more influence over our own happiness than we sometimes realise.

What choosing happiness can look like

Josh’s reflections reminded me that happiness doesn’t usually arrive in big, dramatic moments. It’s built quietly, through small, intentional acts – many of which we already know, but too often forget to prioritise.

Choosing happiness might mean:

• Doing things that genuinely make your heart feel full – the things that set your heart on fire
• Spending time with people who make you feel safe, loved, and supported
• Dancing like no one is watching, because joy doesn’t need permission
• Moving your body – a gentle walk, a run, or time at the gym – and honouring it
• Connecting with your community: contributing rather than criticising, showing up rather than standing back
• Paying attention to how you speak to yourself, because your words carry more power than you think
• Resting when you need to, and getting enough sleep at night
• Honouring yourself and your time – even when that means saying no instead of yes

That inner voice? It matters. A lot.

A daily decision

Happiness doesn’t mean ignoring hardship or pretending life is easy. It means recognising that even on difficult days, we still get to choose how we respond, what we focus on, and who we allow into our inner circle.

Some days the choice is small. Some days it’s hard. And some days it’s simply choosing to be a little kinder – to yourself and to others.

Daily actions build habits. And those habits build confidence, belief, and trust in yourself.

Watching Josh’s video felt like a gentle reminder rather than a lecture. A nudge back to the basics. To joy. To connection. To presence.

If you haven’t watched the video yet, take a few minutes to do so – it might be exactly the reminder you need today.