I got this email from a friend and just wanted to pass it along. I am not sure who the author is but I think it is great little story and just wanted to share. If you know who the author is please let me know so I can credit him or her.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many 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, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. I love it,’ he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait.’ ‘ That doesn’t have 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. ‘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 my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply..
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

I think this is a VERY powerful and moving story because the old man shows in a simple way what we really need to work on. He is saying that by just welcoming the positive into your life you can indeed have a much better life.

I touched on this briefly when I reviewed the book One Hundred And One Ways to Magnetize Money and I think I noticed the positives right away. I felt happier and I was able to spend less and not feel stressed out or feel that I was depriving myself. Putting happiness into your bank of life ensures that it will grow interest much like my ING account and there is nothing better than getting more of a good thing when you put a little bit in.

I will be adding those five tips to my goals for 2010 but need to start working on them over the Christmas break so that I can start the year off on a more positive note.

Go ahead and make a deposit in YOUR bank of life today and see how much interest you get from doing that every day.