Published May 12, 2024

by Andy Berges

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Epictetus once declared, “God has entrusted me with myself. No man is free who is not master of himself. A man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.”

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In other words, God blessed all of us with powerful minds and the degree of our happiness each day is dependent upon our thoughts, not on external things.

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Contentedness and possessing strong faith are also major determinants of our degree of happiness.

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Paul the Apostle mentions this in Philippians 4:11-13 when he says, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

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While we do not possess the ability to control 100% of our happiness at times, we do possess the ability to control our minds and the quality of our thoughts 100% of the time.

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Whenever unwanted negative thoughts periodically creep into our minds, we must take those thoughts captive and redirect our minds to positive thoughts.

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Bad moods are self-inflicted and we possess the power to replace them with happy moods within an instant. As Abraham Lincoln put it, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”

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Starting off our days on a positive note plays a major in regards to how happy we will be each day.

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Studies indicate that when we begin our mornings with a positive mindset, it increases our chances of remaining happy throughout our days.

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There will undoubtedly be mornings when we wake up in a bad mood and/or dread getting out of bed to get ready to go to work.

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On those particular days, we must keep in mind how fortunate we are that God blessed us with another day of life. 150,000+ people on average throughout the world die every day. Inevitably, all of us will be included among the 150,000+ in the near future.

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Every morning we wake up is truly a blessing and every day of life is precious so we must strive to be as happy as possible every day while reciting Psalm 118:24 before we get out of bed, as well as periodically throughout each day - “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”