Anticipate Joy!



In today's daily reading, I found this quote:



Anticipating enjoyment is a good way to begin my day. If I lose my place, I'll remember I can start my day over at any time.



I liked the quote for a few reasons, one is that it reminds me that I can choose to be happy today. There is a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln on this subject, though I don't know if he ever really said this: "Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be."



You can argue with Honest Abe if you want to, but I don't think you'll get very far. Why? Because regardless of our circumstances, we can always find someone who is in a worse state of affairs than we are...and in fact, it is objectively true that some of the happiest people in the world are those who have the least. There are people who have all manner of health problems or disabilities who are happy, and there are people who are poor that are happy.



Happiness is not about our circumstances.

The other thing I like about this quote is the option to "start over" at any time during the day. It reminds me of our computers, and the option to reboot whenever something gets stuck or isn't working just right.

When your eyes first open in the morning and you roll out of bed, what is your mindset? What are you anticipating?? I'm inspired by this quote, and by the fact that I can choose to anticipate joy at the beginning of each day...and that I can choose to be happy today. I don't have to choose happiness for tomorrow...so this isn't a long term commitment or anything! It's just today! If I wake up tomorrow and choose to be unhappy, that's my prerogative too....but...



Just for today...I choose to be happy, and I anticipate that I'll have an enjoyable day!

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