Positive thinking and I are very rarely seen with one another. I'm one of life's great pessimists when it comes to my own life; it's only in my ardent support of friends that my optimism manifests itself.
If I am pessimistic, expecting the bad to happen, I will not react when the bad things come. After all, I expected them.
It is only when you have positive expectations that you can be let down.
However, in certain cases, Peale may be right. I don't believe simply saying "I'm going to be happy" every morning will get the job done. Peale isn't on the level there.
In life, sometimes we are forced to choose between what will make us happy and what will make us unhappy. It's usually more weighty than that, with morality and ethics coming into play, but at the base level the choice really is happy or unhappy. That's where Peale's simplicity is right.
On occasion, we all deserve to choose to be happy, consequences be damned.
Note that I said "on occasion." Dabbling too much in the "Choose to be happy" pool flirts with becoming Hedonistic or suppliants of Dionysus.
The odd indulgence isn't always a bad thing; some vices are meant to be enjoyed. As Churchill said of Clement Attlee, "He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." All virtue and no vice ... fill in the rest of the cliche here.
If you don't already, make a choice and carve out a little happy for yourselves.
I promise, you'll be glad you did.
On this one, I have to disagree with you. Not about the being happy part, I definitely think you should. However, I think you should try to be this way more often than not. It's so much better for your health. And I think you'll find that you're not as disappointed as you thought when trust in happiness. Sometimes people surprise you in the best ways
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