The Power to Be Happy Is Inside of You, and It Begins by Changing Your Attitude

There once was a shy girl who was the youngest of all her many siblings.

Every year, instead of getting brand-new clothes, she received hand-me-downs.

When she was 13 years old, in the summer before eighth grade, she prayed for some pretty shoes. Every day, she would pray,

“God, change my shoes. Change my shoes.”

It was important to her because she knew that all the other girls who would be going into the eighth grade would have much prettier shoes than she did.

When the end of summer finally came, instead of getting her wish, she received a pair of old, clunky Oxfords that had been heavily used. Even the shoe laces were tattered. Because she hadn’t been given pretty, new shoes, the girl was extremely disappointed and began to feel desperate about going to school with her old, ugly shoes.

The first day of school arrived, and she had no choice but to go to school, even though she was embarrassed.

She walked to the bus stop where the other kids were waiting, and a surprising thing happened. She started talking to the others – more than she ever had. This behavior continued at school and on the playground. In addition, she started helping out, organizing games and doing other outgoing things she had never done before.

Because of her new, confident personality, the girls she had always wanted to hang out with started to not only pay attention to her, but they started wanting to be her friend. After this continued for a few weeks, one of these girls finally asked her,

“What happened to you over the summer? I mean, you used to be kind of shy – and you didn’t say much. Now you’re talking more and you’re fun to be around.”

It was then that the previously shy girl realized that instead of answering her prayer for new shoes, God had changed something much more important.

God hadn’t changed the shoes; God had changed her.

Personally, I love this story because it taught me so much about my own attitude. Today, I invite you to consider that the power to change is inside of you, and it begins by changing your attitude.

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Think about the times you feel happy…

We live in an age where we have access to pretty much anything we could want at a moment’s notice: online shopping, dating apps, meal delivery services, streaming services, etc. The question is, if we have such great access to instant happiness, why can’t we seem to sustain it for the long haul?

How to Achieve Daily Happiness Now and Forever

Raymond Charles Barker, the author of The Power of Decision wrote:

“Happiness is genuine satisfaction with your present experience.”

The truth is that most of us were trained from a very young age to only be happy when and if something good happens. What this means is that our happiness fluctuates up and down, and even moment to moment.

But if you’ve ever waited for something to happen and then that day finally came, you may have found that soon after, the happiness you thought it was going to bring you actually didn’t last.

This is what I like to call “condition-based happiness,” meaning that your happiness depends on external circumstances, situations or conditions.

If you’d love to experience sustained happiness, meaning happiness that lasts long term and is experienced on a regular, daily basis, then I highly recommend taking to heart what Raymond Charles Barker wrote, which leads me to pathway number one.

1. Decide to be happy.

If you take a moment to look closer at what Barker wrote, you’ll see that he was suggesting that you have the power to decide to be happy today. Every moment of every day, there’s something to be happy about – all you need to do is accept this truth.

You see, when you decide to be happy, the creative process of the mind moves into instant action upon your decision because your decision is actually a vibration. Infinite energy, which is all-intelligent, knows exactly what to do and starts to go to work immediately.

The best part about this shift in perception is that you actually don’t need a reason to be happy. The only thing you need to do is to decide to be happy. And once you’ve decided to be happy, then you can take the opportunity to look back, and you’ll most likely see positive change not only in your mind, but also in every area of your life.

2. Place your attention on whatever adds to your happiness and well-being.

Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search For Meaning wrote:

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged, then, to change ourselves.”

In other words, you can’t change every situation in your life, but you can always change your perception of it, as well as your decision about who you’re going to be inside that condition.

However, shifting your attention from a negative (or contractive) perception, in which you focus on what’s wrong or missing, to a more positive, expansive, or grateful perception takes practice.

Not only must you make this shift if you want to be happier, but you must also hold your perception in your mind long enough for it to register in the subconscious mind.

One of the best ways I know of to practice having a more positive attitude is to focus on thinking about whatever feels most positive and expansive to you. If you find yourself worrying about something or feeling scared, simply think about something you feel proud of or grateful about.

Earl Nightingale, a famous and successful motivational speaker and writer believed that the most successful people have one thing that other people don’t bring to the table, even though everyone has the ability.

That one thing is a positive attitude. Put simply, successful people are always looking for the good in every situation, no matter what.

3. Do a 7-day happiness experiment.

Changing your attitude doesn’t happen simply by thinking,

“I’m going to change my attitude.”

That’s why I highly recommend you begin the process by trying a 7-day experiment. The truth is that you can do pretty much anything for seven days if you put your mind to it.

Here’s what I suggest:

Start your day with a full dose of gratitude for the things in your life and for simply being alive. Decide that today, you’re going to be happy, not because of the things that are in your life, but because you get to experience life itself.

Next, look for the good in whatever circumstance, situation or condition you find yourself.

Next, practice bringing increase of energy wherever you go, just like the little girl who stopped focusing on what she didn’t have and instead, started bringing positive energy wherever she went.

Remember this: the Infinite is never bored.

I encourage you to try new things, enjoy nature, smile more than you normally do and let yourself live into the life that’s being offered to you in this very moment.

Let’s recap the 3 pathways to sustained daily happiness…

First things first: Decide to be happy.

Then, look for and choose the attitudes that are positive and uplifting.

And finally, join me in doing a seven-day happiness experiment.

Remember… the opportunity and the possibility for a happiness you’ve never known is right here, in the present moment.

The only thing that can block your happiness is your attitude.

And now, here’s a question for you:
When are you going to start your seven-day happiness experiment? Go ahead and share that and your thoughts with me in the comments section below??????

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