A Happy Heart Habit

I am a creature of habit and unlike my younger years full of spontaneity and flying by the seat of my pants, I have a routine and I stick to it pretty regularly. Every morning when I arrive at work, I login to all of my programs, get a cup of coffee, and open my email.

Before I begin looking at anything work-related, I find the email that holds my daily devotional and read it in its entirety. It’s the boost I need and it starts my day off right. Today’s devotional held the verse of Proverbs 17:22 “A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.”

At every speaking engagement I have had the chance to participate in, I talk about attitude. I tell the story of how I consciously made the choice to put a smile on my face, be positive, not dwell on my accident, and put every ounce of energy into my recovery. I knew at that time if I was to fall into the ‘woe is me’ trap, I wouldn’t get out of it nor would I get any better…and that wasn’t an option.

Easier said than done, right? Trust me I know, but even Aeschylus said, “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”

There is so much hurt in our world right now that we can’t even turn on the TV without hearing something bad - about another shooting/stabbing, the crisis in Ukraine, the kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls, the sinking boat, the missing plane. Every day, something new…it’s exhausting to hear and unfortunately we can’t change it.

We can’t control other people’s actions nor can we control every situation we may face in life, but if there’s anything I know it’s that we can’t dwell on the hurt for forever.

 

The hurt will suffocate us if we’re not careful – it will drain every ounce of strength that we may possess and therefore we must hope. We must hope and pray for the good…make the choice to smile…maintain the good attitude….make the heart happy. 

 

Seeing that verse today not only made me realize how important it was to make that small little decision almost eight years ago, but how those words still resonate with me today. I'm blessed to have the life that I do and for that I will smile as much as possible and always look at the glass half full.

 

  Now that's the habit I hope to keep!