“Change your thoughts and you change your world.”
 ~ Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was an early influence for me. In fact, I attribute my taking one of the pivotal steps in my life to him. His positive writings helped earn a place as an international exchange student when I was in high school. It was the single most important event in my young years.

Peale taught people to be positive about their lives and find the power from within to bring about change. I must add that I read his books as a teenager unaware of any controversy surrounding his life. I had only his wise words to guide me and influence me to make good choices in my young life. His words about the influence of attitude on one’s world right true even today.

There are perhaps many things that you’re not particularly satisfied with in your life. You wish you made more money. You wish you had a better car, maybe one that wasn’t in the shop so often. Maybe you would like it better if you were thinner or had thicker hair. Your life would have been so much better had your parents made more money so you could have gone to a better college. All these thoughts border on areas that you can’t change. You can’t rewrite your past, as much as you wish it were otherwise. What you can change is your attitude.

Fretting about the past is wasted energy. With a finite time on this Earth, none of us can offer to squander precious time or energy on futile tasks, especially those with no return. We cannot rewrite history. We can only accept it.

Peale’s words ring true: let go of those negative thoughts and a whole new world opens up to you. You have renewed vigor to tackle what today gives you. You walk lighter without the burden of dead wood. You have a spring to your step. Your mind is free to consider today’s challenges. You are in a better place to take charge of your life.

Peale reminds us to take charge of our own lives. You have the power to change. You have the energy to move in the direction of your goals and dreams. You drive your life. Focusing your energy on the important over the petty is the best thing you can do for yourself today.

Photo by jaylopez

“Happiness lies, first of all, in health.”
 ~George William Curtis

We all want happiness. For as many definitions of happiness, there are scores as many paths to achieving it. We long for it. We dream of it. We play the lottery for it, as if it had a price. We wish it for others. We’d even kill for it. Happiness is our ultimate prize.

Inherent in happiness is the ability to achieve it, the freedom to indulge in it. Of course, happiness is best enjoyed when it is shared with loved ones, family, and friends. When we are happy, we want the world to sing and laugh with us. Happiness feels good.

Happiness, while an inner experience, is also of a physical nature. A feeling of joy and elation propels one forward. A happy person doesn’t sit merely thinking of being happy. She moves. She talks, she laughs, she dances. A happy person is on the go, finding ways to share the joy.

Because happiness is such an active emotion, your body must be ready to receive it. You can’t be dancing in the streets if you haven’t seen to your health. In order for your body to be happy, it must be in the ready state. That means treating your body with respect and care.

Who wants to be achy and sore if bands are playing? How can you sing if you’re coughing and wheezing? How can you dance if you become winded by the thought of it? To achieve happiness, the first thing you must do is ready your body. Feed it the best of fuels to keep it moving. You certainly don’t want to miss a moment of it. You want to enjoy the entire song.

Get check ups regularly. Any condition is easier to treat if caught early. Minimize any time you’d be away from the dance floor. Know your body and what it needs. Help it to perform at its very best.

Get your body in shape for the singing, the laughing, the dancing. Exercise regularly so you can keep up with the flow of joy. Who wants to be sitting on the sidelines if there’s a party going on?

Happiness is such a gift, so much so that we can’t help but wanting to share it. To fully experience happiness in all its glories, you need a healthy body as the receiver. Plan for happiness by being healthy to enjoy it and bask in all its pleasure.
Photo by katagaci