It’s a new month with a new calendar from Action for Happiness: Jump Back July with an emphasis on the role of attitude in happiness.

Today’s idea states:

“Find an action you can take to overcome a problem or worry.”

Some things we can’t control, and as worriers, we tend to focus on these things. But some things we can control, and these are the times when action (not worry), is the watchword. For instance, you might have Sunday night anxiety about a new work week, and you can’t change this (well, you can, but if you want to eat and sleep under a roof, you have to go to work). However, you can mitigate this by filling up your weekend with happy activities and family time and getting to bed early for a fresh start the next day.

I’ve had to take a lot of little actions over a long period of time to get myself back into good, healthy sleeping habits. Those habits were contributing to my depression, and, after discovering this during an especially enlightening run, I decided to make changes. But it couldn’t happen all at once, so I did little things (which I already discussed in part Healthy Habits): No technology before bed, getting to bed by a certain time (even if I just lay there), and getting up to my alarm clock.

Not all actions have to be big. But not all actions are easy or fast. Sometimes it takes work. You can do it. Follow this calendar, start to make your changes, improve your attitude, and discover your happiness.

Choose Joy.

—A