I am free to choose to be happy.

Free means nobody has to sign it off. There is no committee, no parent, no manager whose approval releases the mood to you.

Most people do not quite believe this. They behave as though happiness had to be earned from an authority: the promotion, the parent who never said it, the version of themselves that would finally qualify.

The authority is not coming. That sounds bleak for about a second and then turns out to be the good news, because it means the gate was never locked.

You can decide today, without telling anyone, that this is enough for now.