Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
~ Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln always looked so somber to me in photographs I have seen of him. However, a person had to hold real still for a long time while being photographed or the picture would be a blur.
After I watched reenactments of his great debates, I realized that Lincoln was not somber at all. He had a great sense of humor.
I know that his life wasn't easy, but he learned wisdom from his trials. And one of the wisest things he learned in life had to do with attitudes. He learned he couldn't change what happened around him. The only thing he had control of was how he reacted. So if he make up his mind to be miserable, he would have been miserable. If, like he said, he choose to be very happy, that's what he would be.
I knew a very old 90-something-year-old man who was an absolute gem to be around. He was still making wooden projects that had always been his passion. He was fully competent although slow and bent with age. I loved to go visit him.
I knew a woman who was in her 70s and I did not like to be around her at all. Every time I visited her, she spent the entire time complaining and whining about every little thing wrong in her life. I couldn't leave fast enough.
I have often thought about those two old ones. I look at younger people and see that they most often display one of two kinds of attitudes. There are those who bring joy everywhere they go and the those who complain about everything. I can almost envision how they will be when they are older.
Then I ask myself which kind of person will I be? My attitude now will make all the difference. Lincoln knew that.
About this Author
Ann Mullen is a woman of a certain age who has been writing for two decades. Her website Self-Help Discovery covers self-help articles on a wide range of topics. You are invited to come and see what else is on our site.
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