Every weekday afternoon from 1952 to 1970, millions of American viewers tuned into the televised comedy “Art Linkletter’s House Party.” Years later Bill Cosby hosted a show inspired by Linkletter called “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” The format was simple and thoroughly entertaining: the host would ask unscripted questions of children and the answers were nothing short of adorable.

If you haven’t seen the show, here is a link to some of the episodes taped in 1959:

I heard a cute story about my niece that has relevance to our consideration today. Apparently my young niece, who was 8 years old or so at the time, woke up in a bad mood one summer’s morn. Rather than let it go, her babysitter (my sister-in-law) asked her at breakfast why she thought she started the day in such a foul mood.

My niece thought about it for a few minutes, chewing on her food and looking off thoughtfully in the distance, and said “I figured it out!” My sister-in-law, surprised to hear this cute little girl actually come up with an answer to her question, listened carefully.

“I woke up on the wrong side of the bed!” The puzzled look on my sister-in-law’s face must have begged for further explanation, so my niece continued.”I normally get out of bed on the left side but this morning I got out of bed on the right side!  That must be why I am in a bad mood!”

It is easy to forget how literal children can be sometimes, isn’t it? While my niece didn’t really catch the figurative nature of the phrase she had given as her reason for her grumpiness, I wonder how often we, as adults, also wake up in the morning in a bad mood with no better excuse, literal or figurative?

While we are empathetic creatures, with mirror neurons that allow us to connect with the world around us, with deep connections to the world, past and present, emerging occasionally from the mass subconscious of which we are a part, we nevertheless still have the capacity of free will. You have the power of choice.

When you get up in the morning, do you deliberately consider how (in what mood) you will approach the day? Did you know that you could choose between “Rise and Shine” or “Rise and Whine” every morning?

Many people suffer from chronic low grade infections but I would venture to say that many more suffer from chronic low grade murmuring in relation to the cards they’ve been dealt. Whining, bemoaning one’s lot in life, complaining about one’s circumstances are all paths to a life of misery, impotence and despair.

Take the opportunity this morning to rise and say to yourself and thereby to your world, “I WILL make a positive difference today. I CAN have a constructive influence today.” No matter what comes your way, if you meet it in the original spirit you set at the onset of your day you will, without question, have a more productive day.