Francesca Reigler said: “Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.”
Each individual has to determine what will make one happy. And the only way to get to that point is to examine who we have been, who we are now and who we want to be. This can be accomplished alone with plenty of time for personal solitude and reflection or can be led by a trained facilitator. Ultimately, we find that maintaining a positive attitude is the best method for setting our life compass. True, life is not always sunny, but like Frankl, we can choose to find the positive — the opportunity to learn and grow — in even the most horrible situation.
Once we discover that happiness (however we define it) is attainable and that it does not have to rely on external circumstances, we can then begin to practice habits (which we will learn later) that will help us stay on the correct course setting along our life’s journey. Consider the power of a positive, life-affirming attitude from the book “The Psychology of Power,” by British psychiatrist J.A. Hadfield, which was excerpted in the magazine “Bits & Pieces:”
“I asked three people [Dr. Hadfield wrote] to submit themselves to test the effect of mental suggestion on their strength, which was measured by gripping a dynamometer.” They were to grip the dynamometer with all their strength under three different sets of conditions. First he tested them under normal conditions. The average grip was 101 pounds. Then he tested them after he had hypnotized them and told them that they were very weak. Their average grip this time was only 29 pounds! In the third test Dr. Hadfield told them under hypnosis that they were very strong. The average grip jumped to 142 pounds.[1]
E. A Failed Past Does Not Define Us
He should have been a failure.
[1] Bits & Pieces, May, 1991, p. 15.
