Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week (2 page)

Yes, I know some days are more difficult than others. But if you program your mind in a positive way, you won’t have to drag through certain days just hoping to get to Friday so you can finally enjoy life.

Faith is always in the present. Your attitude should be:
I’m excited to be alive at this moment. I’m excited to be breathing today. I’m excited about my family, my health, and my opportunities. I have plenty of reasons to be happy right now.

According to the authors of the Declaration of Independence, our Creator gave each of us the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Even the British prime minister David Cameron recognized this recently when he proposed polling all residents each year to measure their GWB—General Well-Being.

“Well-being can’t be measured by money or traded in markets,” he said in an interview. “It’s about the beauty of our surroundings, the quality of our culture, and, above all, the strength of our relationships.”

A researcher in Australia found that life goals and choices have as much or more impact on happiness than our body chemistry or genetic makeup. Another study found that half of our happiness is determined by factors other than biology. Ten percent is connected to “life circumstances” and the other 40 percent is dependent on our life decisions.

It is your choice to be happy. Make up your mind to enjoy this day, to have a blessed, prosperous, victorious year. You may have some setbacks and your circumstances may change, but don’t let that change your mind. Keep it set on happiness.

It’s not what happens to you or what you have or don’t have that is important; it’s how your mind is arranged and the choices you make. When our daughter, Alexandra, was just a little baby and I’d get her out of her crib in the morning, she’d be so excited to hear me coming, she’d start jumping up and down. She’d give me a great big, full-body hug with her arms and legs, then a big kiss.

Why was she so excited? She was just happy for the dawning of a new day. Alexandra was excited to be alive to have another day to enjoy. That’s the excitement God has placed inside every one of us. We should never forget how to celebrate each day. But so often as we get older, we let the challenges of life push us down and sadden our spirits.

We have to realize every day is a gift from God. Once this day is gone, we can never retrieve it. If we make the mistake of being negative, discouraged, grumpy, or sour, we’ve wasted the day. Some people squander year after year, being unhappy because somebody is not treating them right, or because they are not getting their way, or because their plans are not working out as quickly as they would like. I’ve made up my mind to not waste any more days. I’m celebrating each as a gift from God.

We prepare for victory or defeat at the very start of each day. When you get up in the morning, you have to set your mind in the right direction. You may feel discouraged. You may feel the blahs, thinking,
I don’t want to go to work today
. Or
I don’t want to deal with these children
. Or
I’ve got so many problems
.

If you make the mistake of dwelling on those thoughts, you are preparing to have a lousy day. You’re using your faith in the wrong direction. Turn it around and say, “This will be a great day. Something good will happen to me. God has favor in my future, and I’m expecting new opportunities, divine connections, and supernatural breakthroughs.”

When you take that approach, you prepare for victory, increase, and restoration. God says to the angels, “Did you hear that? They’re expecting
My goodness. They’re expecting to prosper in spite of the economy. They’re expecting to get well in spite of the medical report. They’re expecting to accomplish their dreams even though they don’t have the resources right now.”

When you begin each day in faith, anticipating something good, God tells the angels to go to work and to arrange things in your favor. He gives you breaks, lines up the right people, and opens the right doors.

That’s what allows God to show up and do amazing things. Sometimes you will see major improvements in your life if you just make that minor adjustment. You would not only have more energy, you would also have a better attitude, and you would be more productive. You would see new doors open. You would meet new friends. You would get some of those breakthroughs you’ve been praying for if you would just get up in the morning and, instead of preparing for defeat, prepare for victory. Prepare for increase. Prepare for God’s favor.

You have to set the tone at the start of each day. If you leave your mind in neutral, the negative thoughts will start to come just by default.

Have you ever been lying in bed in the morning and out of nowhere you’re reminded of all the mistakes you made yesterday and all the problems in your future? That’s the enemy trying to set your mind for a negative, defeated, lousy day.

Don’t fall into that trap. The Scripture says, “Set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things)” (Colossians 3:2
AMP
). Be proactive. Take the offensive. When you get up in the morning, say along with David, “This is another day the Lord has made. No matter how I feel, no matter what the economy looks like, no matter what the medical report says, I am choosing to rejoice. I choose to live this day happy.”

Do you know what you’re really saying when you take that approach? You are proclaiming: “I will not allow anyone to steal my joy today. I will not allow disappointments and setbacks to discourage me. I will not focus on my problems and my mistakes. I’ve made up my mind to enjoy this day.”

I have a friend being treated for cancer. He’s a young man, very talented, very athletic. If he had not told me, I would never have known anything was wrong in his life. I’ve never once heard him complain. He’s always friendly, upbeat, and enjoying life.

I asked him the other day how he could keep such a good attitude during such a difficult time. He said, “When I get up in the morning I ask myself, ‘Do you want to be depressed today, or do you want to live happy?’ and I choose to live happy.”

If you want to be happy, you have to be happy on purpose. When you wake up in the morning, you can’t just
wait
to see what kind of day you’ll have. You have to
decide
what kind of day you’ll have. The Scripture says in Psalm 30:5 that joy comes in the morning. When you wake up each morning, God sends you a special delivery of joy. When you get up in faith and make the declaration “This will be a good day,” you answer that knock at the door. You receive the gift of joy God sent to you!

The problem is, some people never answer the door. The knocking has not been answered for months and months, years and years: “Come on! Let me in! You can be happy! You can cheer up! You can enjoy your life!” I don’t know about you, but I’ve made up my mind to answer the door. I’m waking up every morning and saying, “Father, thank You for another beautiful day. I will be happy. I will enjoy this day. I will brighten somebody else’s life. I am choosing to receive Your gift of joy.”

I’ve found that most of the time we have what we need to be happy. We just don’t have the right perspective. For instance, you may not be happy with the job you have right now. But if you lost that job and went months without any income, you probably would be very happy to win it back.

You see? You had what you needed to be happy. You just didn’t realize it. I know people who are perfectly healthy, but they’re never really happy. There’s always something bothering them. They want a bigger house or a better job. But if they were to lose their health and then regain it, I’m sure they would be thrilled. They have what they need to be happy.

I hear women complain and complain about their husbands and men complain and complain about their wives: “[He or she] is just too much of
this” or “not enough of that.” But if their spouses were suddenly gone and they were lonely month after month; if they didn’t have anybody to talk to; if they had nobody to eat dinner with, they might be happy just to get back their “old goats,” I mean, their
husbands
or
wives
.

Keep your life in the right perspective. Every one of us has something even right now to be happy about: our health, our jobs, our families, or an opportunity.

I know this couple who were constantly complaining about their house. It was too small and too far out in the country. It was a source of frustration year after year. But when the economy went down, unfortunately, their income went down as well, and they came very close to losing that house. Just before the bank foreclosed on it, they were able to refinance so they could keep their home.

Do you know they now think that house is the greatest thing in the world? They show it off like it’s brand-new. What happened? They changed their perspective.

I hear people say, “Well, I’ve got to go to work today.”

No, the right attitude is to say, “I
get
to go to work today. I have a job. I have an opportunity. That’s reason enough for me to have a smile on my face.”

“Well, I’ve got to clean this house. It’s so much work.”

No, “I
get
to clean this house. I’m strong. I’m healthy. On top of that, I have a house. I’m not living under a bridge somewhere.”

“I’ve got to take care of these children. All I do is cook and clean and do the laundry.”

No, “I
get
to take care of these children. They’re a gift from God. They’re a special treasure.”

I’ve found there are very few things in life that we have to do. “I’ve got to pay my taxes.” No, really, you
get
to pay your taxes. The fact that you have taxes due means that you’ve made money. That tells me God blessed you with opportunity.

“Well, I’ve got to go to the grocery store today.”

No, that means you’re healthy enough to eat. “I
get
to go to the grocery store.”

“Well, I’ve got to drive in traffic.”

No, that means God has blessed you with a car. “I
get
to drive in traffic.”

“Well, I’ve got to buy my wife a Valentine’s Day gift.”

No, that means God has blessed you with a wife. You don’t have to buy her a gift. You
get
to buy her a gift. And if you don’t, you will be unhappy, because if Mama is not happy, nobody is happy!

I read about these two men who’d been bricklayers for more than thirty years. They were working on a huge skyscraper downtown. One man was always negative, discouraged, constantly complaining, and dreaded going to work. The other man was just the opposite. He was excited to show up each day and had an attitude of faith and enthusiasm about life.

One day a friend came by the jobsite and asked them separately what they were doing. The first said, “Aw, we’re just laying brick. We’ve been doing this for thirty years. It’s so boring. One brick on top of the other.”

Then the friend asked the second bricklayer. He just lit up. “Why, we’re building a magnificent skyscraper,” he said. “This structure will stand tall for generations to come. I’m just so excited that I could be a part of it.”

Each bricklayer’s happiness or lack of it was based on his perspective. You can be laying brick or you can be building a beautiful skyscraper. The choice is up to you. You can go to work each day and just punch in on the clock and dread being there and do as little as possible. Or you can show up with enthusiasm and give it your best, knowing that you’re making the world a better place.

I’ve found we create much of our own unhappiness. We see what’s wrong rather than what’s right. We look at what we don’t have rather than what we do have. We don’t celebrate each day and appreciate the gift that God has given us.

Years ago, a man traveling by train met a very successful couple. The lady was wearing expensive clothing and jewelry. This couple was obviously well-to-do. The traveler shared their first-class cabin, which was very comfortable. But from the start the lady did nothing but complain. She complained that the temperature wasn’t right, complained that there
wasn’t enough light, complained that the food wasn’t good, and complained that her seat was dirty. She made everyone miserable.

During the journey, the traveler struck up a conversation with her husband. He asked what kind of business he was in. He said he had been in the car industry and God had blessed him in a great way. But he added; “Now my wife, she’s in the manufacturing business.”

The traveler thought,
That’s kind of odd. I mean, she’s so dignified and dressed so properly. That just doesn’t seem like it fits.

He asked very curiously, “What does she manufacture?”

“She manufactures unhappiness,” the husband said. “She’s unhappy everywhere she goes.”

You may need to change businesses, not physically but mentally. Get out of the business of manufacturing unhappiness. Quit dwelling on what’s wrong. Quit seeing the faults and start seeing the good. Start being grateful for what you have. Appreciate the gift of today.

As I walked out of the house early one recent morning, I heard all these birds singing and singing so loud and so cheerful. Little birds were chirping and chirping. Big birds were making a melody. It was like they were having a big party. I wanted to say to them, “Hey, birds. Have you read the newspapers lately? Did you see the stock market last year? You’re not supposed to be singing, enjoying life. What’s wrong with you? You’re acting like everything will be all right.”

What was it with those birds? They know a secret. They know their heavenly Father is in control. They know God has promised to take care of them, so they go through the day singing and enjoying life, regardless of the circumstances.