"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be." --Abraham Lincoln
That quotation is often repeated because there is such profound truth in it. What mood did you make up your mind to be in when you woke up today? The vicissitudes of life come and go and life goes on. Why not decide today to let it flow on for better?
Here are ten great ways you can lift your spirits right now, today. The only thing that can stop you from feeling alive and at one with the universe is you. Don't get in your way today and you can be euphoric.
#1. Begin this day on a positive note of gratitude. Get a notebook and a pen and your morning coffee or tea. Now write down everything you are taking for granted this very moment that you are truly grateful for when you think about it.
"Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again."--Frances Rodman
When you finish with today's gratitude, start on yesterday's.
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"Happiness is what happens to us when we try to make someone else happy."--Tom Bodett
#2. By now you should be ready to give a little back. Think real hard about who you can reach out to today. Is there an invalid in the neighborhood? Is anyone you know in a nursing home or hospital? Bet they'd like a visit from you. Bet that neighbor who has given up driving would appreciate a visitor popping in to ask if she needs anything from the store or if she would like her lawn mowed. There are so many things you can do for others. Go ahead. It will make your whole day.
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"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
#3. Do you remember how to be enthusiastic? The next thing you should do is take a trip to a local playground. Watch those kids. Did you ever see such enthusiasm over playing on swings, slides, and teeter-toters? How do we manage to lose all that zest for life as the years go by? We should study at their feet.
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"Personally, I experience the greatest degree of pleasure in having contact with works of art. They furnish me with happy feelings of an intensity such as I cannot derive from other realms."--Albert Einstein
#4. When was the last time you spent a few hours just strolling through an art museum? You think you know what you like or don't like, but today is a new day. You may fall in love with a painter or sculptor that you never even imagined before. Stay until you find a work of art that brings tears to your eyes because it is so uncommonly beautiful.
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"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."--Albert Einstein
#5. Use your new attitude to appreciate the beauty of nature. If you live in a city of any size there should be a zoo. a children's museum or some place that has a living butterfly collection. (If you live in a rural area, you know where to go.) Google butterflies, grab your camera and go.
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"Act as if you were already happy and that will tend to make you happy." -- Ernie Banks
# 6. What kind of artist were you going to grow up to be? If you're not already an artist, it's time to get out the wood-working tools, paints, paper and pen (or computer) whatever. Write a poem, story or song about your happy day. Build a birdhose. Paint a picture of how the butterflies made you feel. You'll think of something if you let yourself.
#7. Prepare a dinner fit for nobility. If you don't cook, go to a nice restaurant. You deserve it.
#8. Put something on the CD player that all of you will respond to. Don't be surprised if it's something classical and you normally listen to rock. Make up your own dance.
#9. Call a friend to tell them about your extraordinarily joyous day. Invite them to hear about it while you go for a moonlight walk. The night air will feel wonderful and your body will thank you for the exercise.
#10. It's bedtime and you managed to keep your spirits high. Now complete the day by finding an uplifting. inspirational book. Or maybe you'd like some good laughs. Get a book by somebody who's genuinely funny and laugh yourself to sleep. Then have exotic and sweet adventures all night long in your dreams.
The next day repeat with variations.
"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."--Dale Carnegie
