Happiness Is A Habit
1. Live a simple life. Be temperate in your habits. Avoid self-seeking and selfishness. Make simplicity the keynote of your daily plans. Simple things are best.
2. Think constructively. Train yourself to think clearly and accurately. Store your mind with useful thoughts. Stand guard at the door of your mind.
3. Cultivate a yielding disposition. Resist the common tendency to always want your own way. Try to see the other’s viewpoint.
4. Be grateful. Begin the day with gratitude for your opportunities. Be glad for the privilege of life and work.
5. Work with right motives. The highest purpose of your life should be to grow in spiritual grace and power.
6. Be interested in others. Divert your mind from self-centeredness. In the degree that you give, serve, and help, you will experience the by-product of happiness.
7. Live in a daytight compartment. That is, live one day at a time. Concentrate on your immediate task. Make the most of today. Plan for tomorrow, but live for today.
8. Have a hobby. Nature study, walking, gardening, music, golfing, carpentry, stamp collecting, sketching, voice culture, foreign language, chess, books, photography, social service, public speaking, travel, authorship. Cultivate an avocation to which you turn for diversion and relaxation.
By Author Unknown: as published in “Second Chance Newsletter” (April 1991)
1. Live a simple life. Be temperate in your habits. Avoid self-seeking and selfishness. Make simplicity the keynote of your daily plans. Simple things are best.
2. Think constructively. Train yourself to think clearly and accurately. Store your mind with useful thoughts. Stand guard at the door of your mind.
3. Cultivate a yielding disposition. Resist the common tendency to always want your own way. Try to see the other’s viewpoint.
4. Be grateful. Begin the day with gratitude for your opportunities. Be glad for the privilege of life and work.
5. Work with right motives. The highest purpose of your life should be to grow in spiritual grace and power.
6. Be interested in others. Divert your mind from self-centeredness. In the degree that you give, serve, and help, you will experience the by-product of happiness.
7. Live in a daytight compartment. That is, live one day at a time. Concentrate on your immediate task. Make the most of today. Plan for tomorrow, but live for today.
8. Have a hobby. Nature study, walking, gardening, music, golfing, carpentry, stamp collecting, sketching, voice culture, foreign language, chess, books, photography, social service, public speaking, travel, authorship. Cultivate an avocation to which you turn for diversion and relaxation.
By Author Unknown: as published in “Second Chance Newsletter” (April 1991)
Rise Above The Crowd
The world is full of people,
Content to be what they are,
Who never know the joy of success;
They lack the will to go that far.
Yet in this world there is a need,
For some to lead the rest,
To rise above the average life,
By giving of their best.
Are you the one who dares,
To try when challenged by the task,
To rise to heights you’ve never dreamed,
Or is that too much to ask?
This can be your year,
For great purpose to achieve,
If you accept the challenge,
And in yourself believe.
By Author Unknown
The world is full of people,
Content to be what they are,
Who never know the joy of success;
They lack the will to go that far.
Yet in this world there is a need,
For some to lead the rest,
To rise above the average life,
By giving of their best.
Are you the one who dares,
To try when challenged by the task,
To rise to heights you’ve never dreamed,
Or is that too much to ask?
This can be your year,
For great purpose to achieve,
If you accept the challenge,
And in yourself believe.
By Author Unknown
The Few
The easy roads are crowded
And the level roads are jammed;
The pleasant little rivers
With the drifting folks are crammed.
But off yonder where it’s rocky,
Where you get a better view,
You will find the ranks are thinning
And the travelers are few.
Where the going’s smooth and pleasant
You will always find the throng,
For the many, more’s the pity,
Seem to like to drift along.
But the steeps that call for courage,
And the task that’s hard to do
In the end result in glory
For the never-wavering few.
By Edgar A. Guest: “Just Folks” (1917)
Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest was born on 20 August 1881 in Birmingham, England. He immigrated with his family to the United States of America in 1891. From his first published work in the “Detroit Free Press” until his passing in 1959, he penned some 11,000 poems that were syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected into more than twenty books. Mr. Guest is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for more than thirty years. He became known as ‘The People’s Poet,’ writing poems that were of a sentimental and optimistic nature. Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest passed on at 77 years of age on 5 August 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
The easy roads are crowded
And the level roads are jammed;
The pleasant little rivers
With the drifting folks are crammed.
But off yonder where it’s rocky,
Where you get a better view,
You will find the ranks are thinning
And the travelers are few.
Where the going’s smooth and pleasant
You will always find the throng,
For the many, more’s the pity,
Seem to like to drift along.
But the steeps that call for courage,
And the task that’s hard to do
In the end result in glory
For the never-wavering few.
By Edgar A. Guest: “Just Folks” (1917)
Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest was born on 20 August 1881 in Birmingham, England. He immigrated with his family to the United States of America in 1891. From his first published work in the “Detroit Free Press” until his passing in 1959, he penned some 11,000 poems that were syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected into more than twenty books. Mr. Guest is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for more than thirty years. He became known as ‘The People’s Poet,’ writing poems that were of a sentimental and optimistic nature. Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest passed on at 77 years of age on 5 August 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
Attitude
My Reactions become my attitudes about my life.
The most important thing I have learned in my life is that there is only one thing over which I can exercise total and complete control - my attitude.
And I know my attitude will control my health, happiness, successes, wealth, relationships, and what I get out of this one-time trip called life.
While I cannot control many of the things that happen to me, I can control how I react to those things:
My reactions become my attitudes about my life.
I know a positive attitude is the difference between being a winner or a loser.
Starting at this very moment I hereby choose to control my attitude.
Never again will I let people, challenging experiences, problems, and difficult circumstances change my attitude.
I will constantly remind myself that the more often I have a good attitude, the more often I have a good day.
By Author Unknown
My Reactions become my attitudes about my life.
The most important thing I have learned in my life is that there is only one thing over which I can exercise total and complete control - my attitude.
And I know my attitude will control my health, happiness, successes, wealth, relationships, and what I get out of this one-time trip called life.
While I cannot control many of the things that happen to me, I can control how I react to those things:
My reactions become my attitudes about my life.
I know a positive attitude is the difference between being a winner or a loser.
Starting at this very moment I hereby choose to control my attitude.
Never again will I let people, challenging experiences, problems, and difficult circumstances change my attitude.
I will constantly remind myself that the more often I have a good attitude, the more often I have a good day.
By Author Unknown
What Have We Done Today?
We shall do so much in the years to come,
But what have we done today?
We shall give our gold in a princely sum,
But what did we give today?
We shall lift the heart and dry the tear,
We shall plant a hope in the place of fear,
We shall speak the words of love and cheer,
But what did we speak today?
We shall be so kind in the afterwhile,
But what have we been today?
We shall bring each lonely life a smile,
But what have we brought today?
We shall give to truth a grander birth,
And to steadfast faith a deeper worth,
We shall feed the hungering souls of earth,
But whom have we fed today?
We shall reap such joys in the by and by,
But what have we sown today?
We shall build us mansions in the sky,
But what have we built today?
’Tis sweet in idle dreams to bask,
But here and now do we do our task?
Yes, this is the thing our souls must ask,
“What have we done Today?”
By Author Unknown
We shall do so much in the years to come,
But what have we done today?
We shall give our gold in a princely sum,
But what did we give today?
We shall lift the heart and dry the tear,
We shall plant a hope in the place of fear,
We shall speak the words of love and cheer,
But what did we speak today?
We shall be so kind in the afterwhile,
But what have we been today?
We shall bring each lonely life a smile,
But what have we brought today?
We shall give to truth a grander birth,
And to steadfast faith a deeper worth,
We shall feed the hungering souls of earth,
But whom have we fed today?
We shall reap such joys in the by and by,
But what have we sown today?
We shall build us mansions in the sky,
But what have we built today?
’Tis sweet in idle dreams to bask,
But here and now do we do our task?
Yes, this is the thing our souls must ask,
“What have we done Today?”
By Author Unknown
Hope
Hope is like a mountain strong,
That rises fair and even;
With pearls and diamonds strewed along,
That mark the way to Heaven.
By Eliza Wolcott, S. G. Wolcott, And Sarah Goodsell Wolcott Norton
Hope is like a mountain strong,
That rises fair and even;
With pearls and diamonds strewed along,
That mark the way to Heaven.
By Eliza Wolcott, S. G. Wolcott, And Sarah Goodsell Wolcott Norton
Think, Believe, Dream, And Dare
A young man approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and said: “I understand you’re a very wise man. I’d like to know the secret of life.”
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied: “I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words.”
“The first is ‘think.’ Think about the values by which you wish to live your life.
“The second is ‘believe.’ Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values you’re going to live your life by.
“The third is ‘dream.’ Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you’re going to live by.
“The last is ‘dare.’ Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.”
And with that, the old man said to the young man, “Think, believe, dream, and dare.
By Author Unknown
A young man approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and said: “I understand you’re a very wise man. I’d like to know the secret of life.”
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied: “I’ve thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words.”
“The first is ‘think.’ Think about the values by which you wish to live your life.
“The second is ‘believe.’ Believe in yourself based on the thinking you’ve done about the values you’re going to live your life by.
“The third is ‘dream.’ Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you’re going to live by.
“The last is ‘dare.’ Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values.”
And with that, the old man said to the young man, “Think, believe, dream, and dare.
By Author Unknown
If
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!
By Rudyard Kipling: “Rewards and Fairies” (1910)
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Mumbai (once also known as Bombay), Maharashtra, India. He was married to Caroline Balestier in 1892. He became an English novelist and poet. Joseph Rudyard Kipling passed on at 70 years of age on 18 January 1936 in London, City of London, Greater London, England.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!
By Rudyard Kipling: “Rewards and Fairies” (1910)
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Mumbai (once also known as Bombay), Maharashtra, India. He was married to Caroline Balestier in 1892. He became an English novelist and poet. Joseph Rudyard Kipling passed on at 70 years of age on 18 January 1936 in London, City of London, Greater London, England.
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it.
And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.
By Charles R. Swindoll
Charles Rozell ‘Chuck’ Swindoll was born on 18 October 1934 in El Campo, Wharton County, Texas, United States of America. He is a Christian evangelical pastor, educator, radio preacher, and religious writer. He founded “Insight for Living,” which is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and airs a radio program of the same name on more than 2,000 stations around the world in 15 languages. He is presently the senior pastor at the Stonebriar Community Church, a church he founded in Frisco, Texas, United States of America.
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it.
And so it is with you. We are in charge of our attitudes.
By Charles R. Swindoll
Charles Rozell ‘Chuck’ Swindoll was born on 18 October 1934 in El Campo, Wharton County, Texas, United States of America. He is a Christian evangelical pastor, educator, radio preacher, and religious writer. He founded “Insight for Living,” which is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and airs a radio program of the same name on more than 2,000 stations around the world in 15 languages. He is presently the senior pastor at the Stonebriar Community Church, a church he founded in Frisco, Texas, United States of America.
Can’t
Can’t is the worst word that’s written or spoken;
Doing more harm here than slander and lies;
On it is many a strong spirit broken,
And with it many a good purpose dies.
It springs from the lips of the thoughtless each morning
And robs us of courage we need through the day:
It rings in our ears like a timely-sent warning
And laughs when we falter and fall by the way.
Can’t is the father of feeble endeavor,
The parent of terror and half-hearted work;
It weakens the efforts of artisans clever,
And makes of the toiler an indolent shirk.
It poisons the soul of the man with a vision,
It stifles in infancy many a plan;
It greets honest toiling with open derision
And mocks at the hopes and the dreams of a man.
Can’t is a word none should speak without blushing;
To utter it should be a symbol of shame;
Ambition and courage it daily is crushing;
It blights a man’s purpose and shortens his aim.
Despise it with all of your hatred of error;
Refuse it the lodgment it seeks in your brain;
Arm against it as a creature of terror,
And all that you dream of you some day shall gain.
Can’t is the word that is foe to ambition,
An enemy ambushed to shatter your will;
Its prey is forever the man with a mission
And bows but to courage and patience and skill.
Hate it, with hatred that’s deep and undying,
For once it is welcomed ‘twill break any man;
Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying
And answer this demon by saying: ‘I can.’
By Edgar A. Guest: “Heap O’ Livin” (1916)
Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest was born on 20 August 1881 in Birmingham, England. He immigrated with his family to the United States of America in 1891. From his first published work in the “Detroit Free Press” until his passing in 1959, he penned some 11,000 poems that were syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected into more than twenty books. Mr. Guest is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for more than thirty years. He became known as ‘The People’s Poet,’ writing poems that were of a sentimental and optimistic nature. Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest passed on at 77 years of age on 5 August 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
Can’t is the worst word that’s written or spoken;
Doing more harm here than slander and lies;
On it is many a strong spirit broken,
And with it many a good purpose dies.
It springs from the lips of the thoughtless each morning
And robs us of courage we need through the day:
It rings in our ears like a timely-sent warning
And laughs when we falter and fall by the way.
Can’t is the father of feeble endeavor,
The parent of terror and half-hearted work;
It weakens the efforts of artisans clever,
And makes of the toiler an indolent shirk.
It poisons the soul of the man with a vision,
It stifles in infancy many a plan;
It greets honest toiling with open derision
And mocks at the hopes and the dreams of a man.
Can’t is a word none should speak without blushing;
To utter it should be a symbol of shame;
Ambition and courage it daily is crushing;
It blights a man’s purpose and shortens his aim.
Despise it with all of your hatred of error;
Refuse it the lodgment it seeks in your brain;
Arm against it as a creature of terror,
And all that you dream of you some day shall gain.
Can’t is the word that is foe to ambition,
An enemy ambushed to shatter your will;
Its prey is forever the man with a mission
And bows but to courage and patience and skill.
Hate it, with hatred that’s deep and undying,
For once it is welcomed ‘twill break any man;
Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying
And answer this demon by saying: ‘I can.’
By Edgar A. Guest: “Heap O’ Livin” (1916)
Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest was born on 20 August 1881 in Birmingham, England. He immigrated with his family to the United States of America in 1891. From his first published work in the “Detroit Free Press” until his passing in 1959, he penned some 11,000 poems that were syndicated in 300 newspapers and collected into more than twenty books. Mr. Guest is reputed to have had a new poem published in a newspaper every day for more than thirty years. He became known as ‘The People’s Poet,’ writing poems that were of a sentimental and optimistic nature. Edgar Albert ‘Eddie’ Guest passed on at 77 years of age on 5 August 1959 in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
