Let’s fight for our happiness by following a daily programme ofcheerful and constructive thinking. Here is such a programme. It is entitled “Just for Today”。 I found this programme so inspiringthat I gave away hundreds of copies. It was written thirty-sixyears ago by the late Sibyl F. Partridge. If you and I follow it， wewill eliminate most of our worries and increase immeasurably ourportion of what the French call la joie de vivre.
Just For Today
1. Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what AbrahamLincoln said is true， that “most folks are about as happy as they makeup their minds to be.” Happiness is from within； it is not a matter ofexternals.
2. Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is， and not tryto adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family， mybusiness， and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.
3. Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it， carefor it， nourish it， not abuse it nor neglect it， so that it will be a perfectmachine for my bidding.
4. Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learnsomething useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read somethingthat requires effort， thought and concentration.
5. Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways： I will dosomebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least twothings I don’t want to do， as William James suggests， just for exercise.
6. Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can，dress as becomingly as possible， talk low， act courteously， be liberalwith praise， criticise not at all， nor find fault with anything and nottry to regulate nor improve anyone.
7. Just for today I will try to live through this day only， not totackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hoursthat would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.
8. Just for today I will have a programme. I will write down whatI expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly， but I will haveit. It will eliminate two pests， hurry and indecision.
9. Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself andrelax. In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God， so as to get alittle more perspective into my life.
10. Just for today I will be unafraid， especially I will not be afraidto be happy， to enjoy what is beautiful， to love， and to believe thatthose I love， love me.
If we want to develop a mental attitude that will bring us peaceand happiness， here is Rule 1：Think and act cheerfully， and you will feel cheerful.
Chapter 43
The High Cost Of Getting Even
One night， years ago， as I was travelling through YellowstonePark， I sat with other tourists on bleachers facing a dense growthof pine and spruce. Presently the animal which we had beenwaiting to see， the terror of the forests， the grizzly bear， strodeout into the glare of the lights and began devouring the garbagethat had been dumped there from the kitchen of one of the parkhotels. A forest ranger， Major Martindale， sat on a horse andtalked to the excited tourists about bears. He told us that thegrizzly bear can whip any other animal in the Western world，with the possible exception of the buffalo and the Kadiak bear；yet I noticed that night that there was one animal， and only one，that the grizzly permitted to come out of the forest and eat withhim under the glare of the lights： a skunk. The grizzly knew thathe could liquidate a skunk with one swipe of his mighty paw.
Why didn’t he do it？ Because he had found from experience thatit didn’t pay.
I found that out， too. As a farm boy， I trapped four-leggedskunks along the hedgerows in Missouri； and， as a man， Iencountered a few two-legged skunks on the sidewalks of NewYork. I have found from sad experience that it doesn’t pay to stirup either variety.
When we hate our enemies， we are giving them power overus： power over our sleep， our appetites， our blood pressure， ourhealth， and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joyif only they knew how they were worrying us， lacerating us and getting even with us！ Our hate is not hurting them， but our hate isturning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil.
Who do you suppose said this： “If selfish people try to takeadvantage of you， cross them off your list， but don’t try to geteven. When you try to get even， you hurt yourself more thanyou hurt the other fellow”？ … Those words sound as if theymight have been uttered by some starry-eyed idealist. But theyweren’t. Those words appeared in a bulletin issued by the PoliceDepartment of Milwaukee.
How will trying to get even hurt you？ In many ways. Accordingto Life magazine， it may even wreck your health. “The chiefpersonality characteristic of persons with hypertension [highblood pressure] is resentment，” said Life. “When resentment ischronic， chronic hypertension and heart trouble follow.”
So you see that when Jesus said： “Love your enemies”， Hewas not only preaching sound ethics. He was also preachingtwentieth-century medicine. When He said： “Forgive seventytime seven”， Jesus was telling you and me how to keep fromhaving high blood pressure， heart trouble， stomach ulcers， andmany other ailments.
A friend of mine recently had a serious heart attack. Herphysician put her to bed and ordered her to refuse to get angryabout anything， no matter what happened.
Physicians know that if you have a weak heart， a fit of anger cankill you. Did I say can kill you？ A fit of anger did kill a restaurantowner in Spokane， Washington， a few years ago. I have in front ofme now a letter from Jerry Swartout， chief of the Police Department，Spokane， Washington， saying： “A few years ago， William Falkaber，a man of sixty-eight who owned a café here in Spokane， killedhimself by flying into a rage because his cook insisted on drinkingcoffee out of his saucer. The cafe owner was so indignant that he grabbed a revolver and started to chase the cook and fell deadfrom heart failure—with his hand still gripping the gun. Thecoroner’s report declared that anger had caused the heart failure.”