I learned a long time ago that people tend to see the world according to their perspective. Negative people only see what’s wrong with the world, while sometimes positive people only see the good. There is such a thing as self-fulfilling prophecy where if you believe in a certain outcome, good or bad, you have a tendency to end up there.

A lot of success in life depends on your attitude. If you’re expecting to fail, you probably will. If you’re expectations are to succeed, the chances are much greater that you will. But I decided a long time ago to take a different road.

I choose to feel blessed because I am. Every day that I wake up is a gift from God.

I choose to feel grateful because everything I am and everything I have is a gift from God. I don’t deserve any of it, but God saw fit to bestow so much on me.

I choose to be excited because I know as a believer that the best is yet to come and that my best life is not now but coming soon.

I choose to be thankful for so many small ways that God shows up in my daily existence.

I choose to be happy. Better yet, I choose joy.

My expectations are all about what God wants for me. To succeed without God is just as bad as failing because it’s like climbing the ladder to the top only to realize it was against the wrong wall. Where you end up is not where you thought you would be.

My choice is to choose joy. Not happiness. There will be plenty of times when being happy is not an option, or at least not an appropriate one, but joy always is. Joy is simply contentment in Jesus. Nothing more, nothing less.