Friday, October 2, 2015

Good Advice for How to Be Happy

During the General Women's Session of this General Conference, President Deiter F. Uchtdorf shared the following, possibly paraphrased, quotes from two possibly fictional people:
Eva said, “you can’t just flip a switch and go from sad to happy.”

“No, perhaps not,” Aunt Rose smiled gently, “but God didn’t design us to be sad. He created us to have joy! So if we trust Him, He will help us to notice the good, bright, hopeful things of life. And sure enough, the world will become brighter. No, it doesn’t happen instantly, but honestly, how many good things do? Seems to me that the best things, like homemade bread or orange marmalade, take patience and work.”
We can't always just decide to be happy, but we can decide to look for things that can help make us happy. There are many things in the world, like "blue jays... spruce trees... sunsets and... stars," that are gifts from God that can help lift our spirits. If we pray to Him, He will help us see the things that will fill our hearts with peace and joy.

We can't always control how we feel, but we can choose to focus on the good. Eva's Aunt Rose had another piece of advice on how to be happy, but this is a good place to start. Whatever your emotions are right now, I know that if you make a conscious effort to look for the good in today, it will improve your mood.

I'll share some even better advice for happiness tomorrow.

1 comment:

motherof8 said...

"I come to you tonight with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we try to "accentuate the positive." I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort."
Gordon B. Hinckley
Be Not Afraid, Only Believe, CES Fireside for Young Adults, September 9, 2001.