How to Create Your Own Happiness - Part One

Who decides if you are going to be happy or unhappy in life?  You do. Abraham Lincoln said that people were just about as happy as they made up their minds to be.  We want to pass the responsibility off on others, but the good news is if it is up to us, then we aren’t waiting on anyone else and we don’t need to try to control them to get our happiness.  

I have 4 ways to create your own happiness. We’ll cover the first one today and then in the next blog, we’ll cover the other 3. 

So, how do you create your own happiness?

1. When you get up in the morning choose to be happy.  Say out loud, “I choose happiness today.” Don’t say to me, “But Donna, that is too easy.”  Don’t get super-sophisticated in your methods or be in total disbelief and miss out. Take this with child-like faith, not jaded by your life experiences.  
   
   Luke 18:16 & 17 says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  Listen to verse 17 again in The Passion Translation, “Learn this well: unless you receive the revelation of the kingdom realm the same way a little child receives it, you will never be able to enter in.”  
   
   When the Bible talks about the kingdom of God, it is not referring to Heaven and it is not referring to your salvation. Some people read that you’ll never enter the kingdom of God as you’ll never enter heaven or you’ll never be saved if you don’t have this child-like faith.  But we find out that the kingdom of God is inside you from Luke 17:21 and the kingdom of God “is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)
   
   Let’s put that all together and you have peace and joy inside you when you choose to receive it in faith like a little child.  
   
   Think about it...You offer a kid a gift and especially if it is a toy, they are not generally shy in taking it and expressing joy over it. They don’t say, “Are you sure? No, this is too much. I can’t possibly take this.”
   
   Choose happiness today with a child’s heart and spiritual simplicity.  As God hands you this gift of joy say, “Yes, I believe I will have that.  Thank you. I receive that. I take that.”
   
   Arise each morning saying or singing, “This is the day which the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”  (Psalm 118:24) This is a good cure for unhappiness. Say it a few times as you get ready in the morning. You will change the day by starting off with a happiness mindset.
   
   Tell yourself as you get ready, “I believe this is going to be a great day.  With God, I can handle everything that will happen today. I feel good and energized.  It’s wonderful to be alive. God is with me and will never leave me. He has many good things in store for me today and I will look for and savor each one.”
   
   When you start your day out choosing happiness and saying this, your mind will believe what you say you believe and it will go to work trying to make it happen. No, your day won’t be perfect, someone will still likely irritate you or you might still spill your coffee on yourself but your day didn’t stand a chance at being a happy one if you started out with an unhappiness mindset.  You’ll be amazed at how effective this is and how it will bring you joy and less stress.
   
   

Be sure to catch the blog next week for part two where I'll cover three more ways to create your own happiness.