“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
– Groucho Marx
This quote, from Groucho Marx, the great comedian, reveals a simple and effective technique for being happy, which everyone should adopt.
He says that in order to be happy, you need to focus on being happy today. You need choose to be happy and not allow anything to spoil your happiness.
For him, yesterday is gone, and tomorrow does not exist yet. All there is, is today. This is so true. T
he past is over and it is useless to live in the past. The future has not arrived yet, and there is no need to worry about it and spoil your happiness.
It is easier, and you spend less effort, when you choose to be happy today. Tomorrow, you choose again to be happy, and so on.
In this way, you do not face the task of striving to be happy constantly, which might seem a difficult task, but only today.
You have to be happy for one day, only today, and this should not be difficult. All you need is try to be happy today, without worrying about tomorrow.
Tomorrow is another day, and you do not have to worry how to be happy tomorrow. All you need is to decide to be happy today.
Yes, you can choose to be happy today, and yes, you will probably encounter people and situations that would affect how you feel. If you let people and events affect how you feel, you might become unhappy, but if you don’t let them, you would stay happy.
How to Be Happy Today
When you wake up in the morning, don’t immediately start worrying about your tasks and chores for the day and about the problems that you need to solve. Instead, say the following words, aloud or silently:
“I can choose to be happy or unhappy today. I can allow events and the people I meet to drag me down and make me feel unhappy. I can focus on the problems and see the difficulties, but I choose not to do that today.”
“I choose to be happy, and stay happy today.”
“Even if I encounter difficulties and problems, I am going to stay happy. I refuse to allow people and situations affect how I feel. I choose to be happy today no matter what happens.”
“Yesterday is gone and tomorrow has not arrived yet, so why should I worry about them? What exists for me right now is today, and I choose to be happy today.”
If you repeat these words every day, you would be able to build the happiness habit. In time, it would be easier to stay happy all day or at least, most of the day.
Repeating these words would not take much of your time, but they can make your day a happy day.
You can double the effect these words, if you also repeat them before falling asleep at night. You only need to substitute the word “today”, with the word “tomorrow”.
When repeating the words, pay attention to what you are saying and mean what you are saying.
Remember, you, not events, have the power to make you happy or unhappy today. You can choose which it shall be.
You see, if you strive to be happy one day, it will not seem like a hard task. One day to be happy seems more doable. Each day, focus on being happy on that particular day. All you have to do to strive to be happy for one day, and in time, this might turn into a habit.
If you wish, you may repeat Groucho Marx’s quote at the top of this article, instead of repeating the longer version I wrote. Choose what makes you more comfortable repeating.
By the way, if you are familiar with the power of affirmations, repeating inspiring quotes work in the same way as affirmations.
You hammer a quote into your mind, until you act and feel in accordance with the words you repeat.
If you are interested to learn more about affirmations, I suggest that you read the articles about affirmations, here at this website or my book about this topic.
