Happiness is not something owed to us. Nobody is handed happiness on a silver platter. Instead, we make our own happiness, knowing it, is an attitude, a habit gained from daily practice.
One of the most important components of a happy life is taking the full responsibility for determining our own behavior and creating our own happiness. All truly happy people have one common philosophy-life is a "do-it-yourself" kit. As an American adage states, "We seldom think of what we have, but always what we lack". It would be a good idea to remember once in a while an old saying: "I had the blues, because I had no shoes-until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet". While it is true that God gave us all the parts we have, it is us who must put the parts of the "kit" together.
Self-esteem is the cornerstone of happiness and our putting the "kit" together. Self-esteem is that deep-down feeling in our souls of our own self-worth. Healthy self-esteem is not narcissistic, self-indulgent, or arrogant. Healthy self-esteem means to appreciate the value of ourselves as unique human beings with our own special talents and abilities. Indeed, the word "esteem" is founded in Latin, meaning "to value highly". It would be impossible to value another person without first feeling value for ourselves.
The practice of positive self-talk is perhaps the most important key to the permanent enhancement of self-esteem. We must constantly feed our self-image with positive thoughts about ourselves. We all have an inner video cassette within each of us. It records our self-talk, minute to minute. Every waking moment we mold our self-esteem with thoughts about ourselves. We need to become aware of the silent conversations we hold with ourselves. Our self-talk is creating our self-image.
Healthy self-esteem and positive self-talk are the beginning steps to happiness and success. The necessary tool for happiness is attitude. There is growing scientific evidence that positive mental attitudes actually help us withstand pain, overcome depression, turn stress into energy, and gather the strength to persevere. Setting a goal starts with a dream, a desire for something we want. Planning is the road map that leads us to our destination. Motivation is the fuel that will get us there.
Cromwell, the sixteenth-century English religious leader, once wrote, "Think and thank". Such a small thing, to spend a few minutes a day to "think and thank". Take a moment to think of all the things we have to be grateful for, and thank God for all our talents and treasures. Do it especially when things appear to be going wrong, when we feel like quitting, that we think we can't go any further. We might be surprised how long our "thank" list is.
