John was ninety- two years old and blind, but he was just as sharp as

could be when his wife, Eleanor, went to the Lord. He didn’t feel he should

live alone, so John decided to move into a nice seniors’ home. On the

morning of the move, he was up and fully dressed by 8:00 a.m. As always,

the elderly gentleman looked impeccable, with his hair perfectly combed

and his face neatly shaven.

A cab picked him up and took him to the seniors’ home. John arrived

early, as was his habit, and waited more than an hour before a young aide,

Miranda, came to show him to his new room. As John maneuvered his

walker through the hallways, Miranda described his room in great detail.

She said sunlight came in through a big window, and there was a comfort-

able couch, and a nice desk area.

Right in the middle of her description, John interrupted her and said,

“I love it. I love it. I love it.”

Miranda laughed and said, “Sir, we’re not there yet. You haven’t seen it.

Hold on just a minute, and I’ll show it to you.”

John said, “No, you don’t have to show it to me. Whether I like my room

or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It depends on how

my mind is arranged. Happiness is something you decide ahead of time.”

As wise old John understood, happiness is

a choice. When you wake up in the morning

you can choose what kind of day you want

Happiness is a choice.

EveryDayFriday_HCtextF1.indd  3 7/21/11  3:37:37 AM4 Every Day a Friday

to have. You can choose to be in a good mood, or you can choose to be in

a bad mood.

Choose Happiness

My purpose in writing this book is to help you arrange your mind so that

you choose happiness each and every day. Whatever challenges you may

face, whatever circumstances are weighing you down, you can choose

your response. How you live your life is totally up to you. It’s not depen-

dent on your circumstances. It’s dependent on your choices. Abraham

Lincoln said, “Most people are as happy as they’ve decided to be.”

Honest Abe would have enjoyed a recent study that found happiness

increases 10 percent on Fridays. Why is that? People are excited about the

coming weekend, so they decide to be happier. They make up their minds

on Fridays to enjoy their lives more.

I challenge you to let every day be a Friday. Give yourself permission to

be happy every day. Not just on the weekends. Not just when you have a

special event. Not just when you’re on vacation.

If you have the right mind- set, you can be just as happy on Monday as

you are on Friday. The Scripture doesn’t say, “Friday is the day the Lord

has made.” It says, “This is the day the Lord has made” (Psalm 118:24

nkjv; emphasis added).

This means Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and every other day of the

week. You can be happy even when it’s raining, when you have to work

late, or when you have to do the dishes.

Why don’t you make up your mind to be happy every day? You’ve heard

the saying “TGIF. Thank God it’s Friday.” For you and me it also should

be, “TGIM. Thank God it’s Monday.”