I love talking and once I start it’s difficult to shut me up; there is nothing I like more than a chin-wag with anyone who’s happy to listen to my ramblings, and I’d hope that when I have finished the conversation I leave the person or people feeling happier than when I started. I don’t go around spouting positive quotes to everyone, no no I’d get locked up – I’m simply mindful. I try my best to only use words that have a positive effect. I give compliments, I take note of what’s being said to me and I react accordingly with a sense of gratitude and interest. None of what I say or do is false, it’s all sincere: I mean every bit of it, if I didn’t then it would be pointless. I believe how we react, the words we use and our attitude – if used correctly – can shape a life of happiness for us all. I’m not trying to treat you all like infants, but I want to try and spell out what I have to say in the simplest way I can. Each and every word we use has the ability to shape our life and the same goes for our attitude. Have you ever been in the position where you’re driving to work in the morning and someone pulls out in front of you? Yes it’s maddening, but you shouting and getting angry is only going to ruin your whole day. Don’t get angry, what’s the point? What’s done is done and as long as nobody was hurt then carry on with your day with the attitude that you are happy to still be alive. Give gratitude that nobody was hurt and start your day in charge. I could give a million examples of situations that can put a dampener on our day, but I’d be here all day writing about them. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that by choosing to own our day from the moment we wake up, then nothing can affect us without our permission. We are surrounded by negativity – it’s all around us – but we have the opportunity to be a light in the darkness, we have the ability to be in control of how bright we shine. Hands up who likes being around happy people? Or are you more at home around people who are grumpy? Id say the majority of us would chose happy; if you choose grumpy then you need this blog more than anyone. I have covered the powers of words a number of times in my past blogs – feel free to have a read – but I’ve never really covered our attitude. Owning how we are going to deal with our day is one of the first things we teach you at Byw; we work with you on how to sculpt your day from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep at night. If we complain about things, no matter how small or insignificant, then that thing owns us, it can get under our skin and eat us from within. We worry about other people and what they think when we cant even keep under control what we think. Our moods and attitude are not as hard to manage as we think, a few simple techniques and exercises a couple of times day can keep us mindful and positive before we know it, with no effort at all. It takes effort to have a life that we choose, but it can take more effort dealing with a life that we haven’t.