Decide to be Happy

“Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be.” Abraham Lincoln.

This morning I want to encourage you to look at what is ‘right’ in your life rather than what is ‘wrong’. Decide to be happy! It’s so easy to get caught up in the negative that we feel in our lives. It’s easy to focus on what needs to be ‘fixed’. In doing this, we drag down our emotions; we suppress our joy; we mask our light from shining in the world.

In all our discussions about beauty, isn’t it true that your true beauty comes from within? You can look beautiful on the outside but if you appear sad, angry or bitter, the world will see that instead of your beauty. It takes your inner beauty to draw people to you! The way to find that beauty is to focus on what is ‘right’ in your life, not what is ‘wrong’. It means deciding to be happy.

Granted, bad things happen that make us sad or angry. These feelings are valid but should not be the ‘constant’. A divorce, a sick child, struggling with weight, loss of a job, outrageous gas prices, a bad haircut, not getting a dream job and so many other things. Being happy is not always easy. In the book, “Being Happy” by Andrew Matthews it states this: “It (happiness) can be one of the greatest challenges that we face and can sometimes take all the determination, persistence and self-discipline that we can muster. Maturity means taking responsibility for our own happiness and choosing to concentrate on what we have got rather than on what we haven’t.”

This morning, the very subject touches my life once again. My dear friend just spent the night in the hospital as her oldest son underwent a transplant of not one, but two organs. Her blog updates are beautifully written and consistently, she lets her inner beauty come through in her words. Her focus is on what is ‘right’, rather than what is ‘wrong’. Her day was filled with sadness, stress and worry but at the end of it all, she is a happy person looking forward to reuniting with her son when he comes out of surgery. (Your prayers for them would be appreciated!)

I see in her example that true happiness is not based on an event, it is based on a lifetime of building good habits that focus on what you do have, what is good and right. If you find that you are feeling unhappy (the true kind of happiness, not one based on a good haircut or a great lip gloss), make a change today. What you do today affects what you will have tomorrow. Begin building good habits today that allow you the inner happiness that events can not give or take away. Make a decision to be happy and get started today, despite what may be ‘wrong’ in your life!

Need a good resource to help you get on the right track? Try “Being Happy” by Andrew Matthew. This book is an ‘easy read’ full of easy to understand concepts and tips to help you be happy!

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