Do you feel in control of your life? Do you think that fate determines the path we follow, or do you consider it’s down to you to make your own choices? I have no more idea than anyone else which is actually the case, but I can tell you that people who believe that they have control over their lives tend to be happier than those who don’t.

If you already feel in control, that’s great. If you don’t, however, it’s an important thing to work on. Many things in life are indeed out of our control. You can’t determine when your car breaks down,^* or whether one of your close family gets seriously ill. You may feel powerless about having to work for an impossible boss. You can’t determine the weather.

Then again, as they say, ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather. There’s just the wrong clothes’. Even the most random external events aren’t completely out of your control, because you can choose how you react to them. What will you do about the car – sell it and buy something more reliable, or take a chance on it? How can you support the person who is ill? Are you going to stay in the job or hand in your notice?

The more free choices you can make, the better you’ll cope with whatever life throws at you. Actually, sticking with the status quo – keeping the car, staying in the job – is a choice, but it doesn’t always feel like it. It’s easy to feel saddled with a situation you don’t like.

So always be conscious that you have a choice. Sometimes the alternative is worse than what you have now, but you’re still making a choice to put up with things. If you keep the job you’ll be happier for knowing that you could leave but you’ve chosen to stay. OK, you’re not as happy as you’d feel if the boss left and was replaced by a new dream boss. But a lot happier than if you feel you have no control. You do have control, you’re wielding control, you have the power – and you’re using it. Apply this control to every corner of your life. You may choose not to change very much, but there’s always an alternative, however bleak, and you’re not being carried along relentlessly on a path you wouldn’t choose. You are choosing your path, every day.