Dolly Parton Reveals the Secret to Her Being Happy All the Time
Dolly Parton is the exception to the rule.
Every celebrity has an off day sometimes. Their schedules are packed with interviews, appearances, and events. And when one of those off days is caught on film or recorded by a reporter, it can haunt a person in the spotlight for years.
But in her many, many years as an entertainer, it seems like Dolly Parton has never had an off day. In every interview, appearance, at every event, she has that big Tennessee smile on her face, and she speaks to everyone as if they’re her new best friend.
Dolly Parton on being happy all the time
In one interview back in 2014, Parton was asked about how she’s always in a good mood. She said: “People say, ‘You always look so happy.’ I say, ‘That’s because of the Botox.'”
But, really, the country superstar says the secret to her unwavering happiness is that she’s actually not happy all the time at all. She’s quite sensitive. But she was fortunate to be born with a “happy heart.”
“I’m not always happy,” she told Southern Living in 2014. “Nobody is happy all the time. I’m a very sensitive person. I’m a songwriter, so I have to live with my feelings on my sleeve. I have to not harden my heart, because I want to stay open to feel things. So when I hurt, I hurt all over. And when I cry, I cry real hard. And when I’m mad, I’m mad all over. I’m just a person; I like to experience whatever the feeling is and whatever I’m going through. But I have a good attitude. And I was born with a happy heart. I’m always looking for things to be better.”
Dolly Parton is a highly spiritual person
Parton says she’s “grateful for the things that happened to [her]” — the good and the bad.
“I think that also came from my childhood — my grandfather was a preacher — just having God, faith, and all that instilled in us,” she said.
In addition to her happy heart, Parton’s faith keeps her looking on the positive side of things.
“I pray a lot,” she said. “I pray that God will show me what to do and will guide me and lead me. And I try not to answer His prayers. I try to keep myself wide open to recognize what it is that I’m supposed to know and to see. I may not always like a route that something’s taken. I might prefer it to be something different. But I think, ‘Well, this is what I’ve got.’ So you gotta make the most with what you’re supposed to be doing.”
The ‘Jolene’ singer takes charge of her life
At the same time, Parton holds firmly the reins of her own life. When she was just a little girl and singing for her family chickens and dogs into a tin can placed atop a stick to act as a microphone, Parton knew she had to make some serious moves to share her music with the world.
“I like to make things happen if they’re not happening,” she said. “I like to get involved. So I like to think of myself as a Girl of Many Colors, not just a coat, because I have all kinds of moods, and I experience them all. I think that’s what makes a human being.”
