Happy Is As Happy Does

There is a song by Kenny Chesney titled “Happy Is as Happy Does.” I absolutely love it. It’s simple, upbeat, and packed with truth. The idea is that happiness isn’t something that just happens, it’s something we do. It’s not a prize handed out to the lucky few, but a mindset we choose and cultivate every day.

That message echoes through history. Aristotle is credited in 350bc as saying, “Happiness depends upon ourselves.” Voltaire added, “I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.” Abraham Lincoln then said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” And Charles Swindoll famously reminded us that “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” Well over 2000 years of wisdom provides the roadmap for living. Happiness doesn’t come from what we have or what happens, it comes from how we respond.

Have you ever noticed how once you buy a yellow car, you suddenly see them everywhere? It’s not that the world suddenly filled up with yellow cars, it’s that your awareness changed. I call this the Yellow Car Syndrome. When something becomes important to us, we start to see it more often. Happiness works the same way. The more we look for it, the more we see it. If you wake up determined to find small moments of joy, a student’s smile, a kind gesture, a peaceful morning drive, you’ll notice them everywhere. But if your attention is fixed on frustrations, delays, or disappointments, that’s what will fill your view. The world gives us both, but our focus decides which one wins the day.

Picture yourself walking down a long sidewalk. Most of it is smooth and easy to travel, but every once in a while, a tree root has pushed up the concrete and left a crack. You could walk the whole length of that sidewalk staring only at the cracks, muttering about the flaws and tripping over what’s wrong, or you could look up, take in the view, and appreciate the miles of stable surface beneath your feet. That’s the secret of a happy mindset. It’s not about ignoring the cracks. It’s about seeing the whole picture. 

Another way to look at it is with planes. On a single day around the world, around 130,000 flights take off and land without incident, according to the International Air Transport Association. Commercial crashes are extremely rare, averaging about 3 crashes with fatalities per year globally. Compared to car crashes globally, there are approximately 3,500 to 3,700 road traffic fatalities per day, that is one death every 26 seconds on average. Yet, there are people that still think car travel is safer than a plan. It could be simply a fear of heights or, more plausibly, it is about the focus.    

Back to my point, there are always going to be things that don’t go our way, projects that don’t finish on time, plans that get interrupted, and days that start sideways before we even pour our first cup of coffee. But those cracks don’t define the journey. What defines it is how we react, how we adjust, and whether we keep looking for the beauty around us. We need to choose our filter. Happiness is a lens. It doesn’t erase the challenges, but it reshapes how we experience them. That’s where Lincoln’s insight lands so powerfully: “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” It’s a decision. It’s not about pretending everything is fine, it’s about deciding to approach life with gratitude instead of grumbling, optimism instead of outrage, and curiosity instead of complaint.

Voltaire’s perspective adds another layer: “I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.” Science clearly backs that up. Positive emotions reduce stress, improve focus, and even strengthen immunity. But before science, the wisdom was clear. Choosing happy isn’t denial, it’s discipline. It’s tending to your mindset the way you’d tend to a garden. What you water grows.

Swindoll ties it all together with the ultimate reminder of, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” That 90% is ours to determine, the space where we decide whether to dwell on the crack or just step over it. That brings me back to Kenny Chesney’s song, “Happy Is as Happy Does.” The title alone feels like an anthem for anyone who wants to live with purpose. Happiness isn’t a mood, it’s a practice. It’s not just feeling good, but doing good. It’s helping others, showing gratitude, finding humor, or choosing grace when frustration would be easier.

Each of us wakes up with a choice, to look for yellow cars or to overlook them. To see the cracks or the miles of smooth sidewalk. To react with joy or resentment. To do happy or to wait for it to arrive. The truth is, happy people aren’t the ones who have fewer problems. They’re the ones who focus more on what’s right than what’s wrong. They’ve made up their minds to walk with appreciation and respond with heart. So I invite you to join me in my challenge, to myself and my family, to make that choice. Let’s find the yellow cars, step over the cracks, and remember that happiness isn’t out there in some unreachable place somewhere. It’s inside each of us. It’s in how we choose to see and live each day. Because in the end, happy is as happy does. (cue Kenny Chesney - Happy Is As Happy Does). 

Until next time...