Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.

Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it. – Groucho Marx

It looks like these people took Groucho’s advice and decided to be happy today. Will you?

What does that mean?
A slightly longer version of the quote is as follows: “Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”

This is a classic ‘live in the present’ quote, but done in the matter-of-fact style Groucho did so well. It’s not as flippant or irreverent as some of his quotes, but it suits him just as well. Perhaps he was caught in a contemplative moment.

The quote states that the past is gone and tomorrow has yet to arrive. That leaves us with today. The longer version says that he has the choice if he wants to be happy or not. His decision, made consciously and in advance, is to be happy.

Why is making the decision to be happy important?  
This is the same decision we all face every morning. It can be a conscious choice, or a habit. How we choose to answer it will, in large part, determine how we view our day. If we get up dreading the day, it will be a little harder to have a good one. If we awake cheery and ready for anything, we’ll likely have a slightly better day.

We have all had days when we were predisposed to a negative view. It happens. But how difficult was it to shift from there to a better place, or did the decision ruin the whole day? In my experience, as well as that of many friends, it is very difficult to change it once the decision has been made.

The opposite is also true. Once you have decided that you’re going to have a great day, that you will be happy in it, it’s hard to slide too far down into the gloom of a not-so-happy day. And to me, that is the point of the quote, to decide that you will be happy, and make the decision stick.

Where can I apply this in my life?
We have all seen both the Gloomy Gus and the Cheery Sherrie, right? One is always having a bad day. While an overly cheery person can get on your nerves, I find them to be easier to deal with than a gloomy person. That just sucks the fun out of a day in no time flat.

If Gus won the lottery, the first thoughts he had would be about all of the taxes he would have to pay, and all the relatives and long lost friends who would stop by to say “Hi!” With their hands out, of course. Comments would then go on about bankers and investors stealing the money, and no good deed going unpunished.

On the other side of the coin, Sherrie can always find something to be happy about. Gloomy skies, with threat of rain? That’s great for the grass, the flowers and the trees, right? And of Gus and his winning lottery ticket, she’d be there trying to cheer him up, wouldn’t she?

Most of us fall somewhere between these extremes. I try to aim for a more practical, slightly toned down Sherrie, and try to avoid being Gus as much as possible. Where do you fall along that continuum? Are you happy with were you are, or do you want to try to move a little, or even a lot?

The first thing to remember is the first line of the extended quote. We have the power, the power of choice. We choose how to interpret what happens to us. Yes, we have social norms, personal preferences and habits. Yet in the end, it is up to us to determine if we are happy or not.

What tends to bring you down? What gets on your nerves? What are the things which get to you, and tend to put pressure on your happiness? Grab some paper and write them down. Take a moment and consider why these things bug you, and write those down as well.

Now select one of the things which bug you and think about how you could change your attitude so as to make it less annoying. What else could you do to diminish the impact that it has on your happiness? Remember, you can only change yourself. Others you can influence, but not change.

Which of those steps can you implement today? Which one do you want to start with? What will you do to keep track of when you succeed in using the new behavior, instead of the old? Feedback is important to the act of fine-tuning your plan, to reduce the annoyances and maximize happiness.

What have you decided? Have you decided to have a happy day, and to take some steps to make it even better? Or is your life just too happy already?

From: Twitter, @ARFoundation
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/g/grouchomar157474.html
Photo by Son of Groucho

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