The Power to Feel Great

I wanted to be happy, but it felt like my mind had other plans.

“Who can I ask to turn off the rain?” grumbled a little voice in my head, looking for reasons to be grumpy all day.

Then one day, a new thought appeared: “What if I could feel great?”

As soon as that thought popped up, I heard another voice say, “Just because the sky is gray doesn’t mean your day has to be.” I opened the window, watching the rain, and suddenly remembered—life always has a fun side. How I feel is for me to decide.

That second voice was right. Maybe the sky isn’t so nice, and stepping outside makes me feel like a shivering monkey—cold and a bit lost. But just like a monkey belongs in the jungle, I realized we can’t always have perfect days. Still, there’s always something good to find! Maybe trying banana ice cream could cheer me up. And I thought of penguins, who always seem to have fun as they glide. Why not call my friends and plan a day of sliding and laughing?

There’s no need to wait. The things I don’t like won’t magically go away, but when I ignore that complaining voice, I can start feeling great right now. Life always has a bright side, and my power to feel great helps me see it.

Now I understand that the grumpy voice in my head is just trying to trick me. It’s better to turn it off because being grumpy isn’t fun—not even for me! I’d much rather listen to the voice that cheers me up and comes up with fun ideas, even on rainy days or when things don’t go my way. It’s up to me to enjoy the ride!

Challenge: Use this page to write down ideas of things that make you happy and things that you like about life. When the grumpy voice starts bothering you, you can come back to this page and use your Power to feel great right away!