The 3 things we CAN control in life

While certain circumstances in life are beyond our control -- death and taxes among them -- there are three things over which we can maintain control:

(1) Attitude: We can see the glass as half empty or half full. Whether we view a situation negatively or positively is our choice.

(2) Our words: The words that come out of our mouths, as well as those we put down on paper, ought to be chosen carefully, as they're not always easily forgotten.

(3) Our actions: Life is less about what happens to us than what we do with what happens to us. Our lives are a direct reflection of the decisions we make.

However, this is easier said than done. Oftentimes, we're blindsided by unforeseen circumstances that cause our emotions to supersede rationality, resulting in our later regretting some of the things we say or do.

For example, you might be having an awful day after being passed for a promotion or getting fired. Upon getting home, you snap at your spouse when he complains for the millionth time that you haven't picked up the clothes you left lying in the living room.

We are, after all, human. We all make mistakes. When powerful feelings take over -- anger, jealousy, euphoria -- we're more apt to behave differently than we would with a clear head and our emotions in check.

That's why we should, to the best of our ability, temper those feelings with logic reasoning before we make decisions.

In other words, before hurling obscenities at your spouse in response to his complaint about your messiness, think about the repercussions of such an action.

We are in full control of our thoughts, which color our attitudes on everything from how favorably we view our lives to how we perceive those in our social circle.

And if our goal is to accomplish something -- lose weight, go on a few dates, get a better job -- we are in the driver's seat. Bo Bennett once said, "A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement.

In sum, we can't control external forces in our lives, but we can control how we approach situations -- in terms of our thoughts, attitudes, words, and the actions taken in response.

It's up to us to control these in ways that are most advantageous to us.