“Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our thoughts play an enormous role in who we are and what kind of lives we live. If we think negatively most of the time, we will tend to lead negative, unhappy lives. Some people are almost obsessed with feeling sorry for themselves and with the thought that life has been unfair to them. They often see the results of other people’s hard work and careful planning as good luck, and are jealous of anyone who seems to be better off than them. Even if these people are well off financially and have more than sufficient other reasons to be happy, they are never satisfied with what they have. As long as these people maintain this attitude, they don’t stand a chance of finding happiness, no matter how good life is to them.
There are others who consider themselves blessed by just being alive. So long as their lives are going even reasonably well, they think positively and lead happy lives. These people are far more likely to be sympathetic to others who have problems than the people described above. Studies have shown over and over that there is no substantial relationship between the standard of living and happiness, once people rise above poverty. Obviously, if a person does not have adequate food and shelter it is hard to be happy. But once most of the basic needs are met, wealth plays little role in determining who is happy and who is unhappy. Happiness is a way of thinking. It is an attitude. And most people who are unhappy have an attitude problem.
We cannot control what thoughts come into our minds. All of us are bombarded with all kinds of thoughts, some of them welcome and some of them not. But we can control which thoughts we dwell on. Just like weeding a garden, where we remove the unwanted plants and nurture the desired plants, we need to weed our thoughts on a regular basis. We want to nurture those thoughts that will improve our lives and our happiness, and we want to get rid of those thoughts that can only hurt us. This is not always easy. Sometimes those thoughts that can hurt us, such as temptations to cheat or take shortcuts in life, are very persistent in their attempt to capture our attention. And some of those thoughts that can help us most, such as reminders that we need to work harder, are easy to push aside. But we must be vigilant. There is probably nothing we can do that will have a greater impact on our lives and happiness than to consciously cultivate positive thoughts and push aside negative ones.
Think about it.
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Copyright 2025
Allen W. Smith
