John C. Maxwell was once a speaker at a seminar with his wife. He and his wife, Margaret, were asked to speak at several separate sessions. When Maxwell was a speaker, his wife always sat in the front row and listened to her husband’s seminars. Conversely, when Margaret was speaking at one of the sessions, her husband always accompanied her from the front seat.

Once his wife, Margaret, was speaking at one of the seminar sessions on happiness. As usual, Maxwell sat on the front seat and listened. And at the end of the session, all the participants applauded. In that question and answer session, after a few questions, a mother held up her hand to ask, “Miss Margaret does your husband make you happy?”

The whole room fell silent instantly. One good question. And all the participants were curiously waiting for Margaret’s answer. Margaret seemed to think for a while and then replied, “No.”

The whole room was shocked. “No,” she said once again, “John Maxwell can’t make me happy.” The whole room immediately turned to look at Maxwell.

Then, continued Margaret, “John Maxwell was a very good husband. He never gambled, drunk, or played in a mess. He was a loyal man. But, still he can’t make me happy.”

Another participant asking, “Why?”

“Because,” replied Margaret, “no one in the world is responsible for my happiness but myself.”

In other words, the point of Margaret, is that no one else can make you happy. Whether it’s your partner, your best friend, your money, or even your hobbies. None of that can make you happy. Because what can make you happy is God and your own choice to be happy. If you often feel well-off, don’t have feelings of inferiority, are always confident, then you won’t feel sad. Indeed, it is our mindset that determines whether we are happy or not, not external factors.

Whether your life is happy or not is not determined by how rich you are, how beautiful your wife is, or how successful your life is. It’s a matter of choice: whether you choose to be happy or not. We can control ourselves in choosing the response we will give to external conditions.

Have a bessed day and be happy!