Years ago， I read a little book that had a lasting and profoundeffect on my life. It was called As a Man Thinketh by James LaneAllen， and here’s what it said：
“A man will find that as he alters his thoughts towards thingsand other people， things and other people will alter towardshim.... Let a man radically alter his thoughts， and he will beastonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in thematerial conditions of his life. Men do not attract that which theywant， but that which they are.... The divinity that shapes our endsis in ourselves. It is our very self.... All that a man achieves is thedirect result of his own thoughts.... A man can only rise， conquerand achieve by lifting up his thoughts. He can only remain weakand abject and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts.”
According to the book of Genesis， the Creator gave mandominion over the whole wide earth. A mighty big present. ButI am not interested in any such super-royal prerogatives. All Idesire is dominion over myself—dominion over my thoughts；dominion over my fears； dominion over my mind and over myspirit. And the wonderful thing is that I know that I can attain thisdominion to an astonishing degree， any time I want to， by merelycontrolling my actions—which in turn control my reactions.
So let us remember these words of William James： “Much ofwhat we call Evil.... can often be converted into a bracing andtonic good by a simple change of the sufferer’s inner attitudefrom one of fear to one of fight.”
Let’s fight for our happiness！
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.