A 92-year old, petite, well-poised and proud man was fully dressed each morning by 8:00 a.m. His hair was always neatly combed and his face clean shaven … even though he was legally blind.

But today was to be a different day. He was moving to a nursing home because his wife of 70 years had just passed away, and he could no longer live by himself.

After a couple of hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, the nurse provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on his window.

“I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of a young child who had just been given a special birthday present.

“Mr. Godwin, you haven’t seen the room. Just wait.” responded the nurse.

“That hasn’t got anything to do with it,” he replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.”

The old man continued, “It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as I’m alive, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away … for this time in my life.”

What wisdom! Mr. Godwin had learned one of the great secrets of life … and that is … your success and happiness are not determined by the things that happen to you … good or bad. Your success and happiness are determined by the way you respond to the things that happen.