I often ask clients what their plans are for the week and I often get a rather uninspired answer.

I recently made the decision to embrace uncertainty. Ever since I did this, I have found my life considerably more eventful. So far this week, I've had an impromptu dinner, a quick coffee and catch up with a friend and... a run in with a ticket machine, followed by delays on my tube line resulting in my being late for an important client!

All events that have contributed towards my feeling more alive. Yes, you may question how my being late could have enriched my life, but you would be mistaken. You see, I believe that 'thoughts become things' and my thoughts last night were very much geared towards my being late this morning. As I set my alarm, I sighed at the realisation that I would being enjoying just 5.5 hours sleep and questioned whether my weary body would make it. Self sabotage if ever I saw it, and a big reminder to be more careful with my thoughts!

You see, within us, we all have the thinker and the prover. What the thinker thinks, the prover kindly proves because we all have an inherent need to be right.

Today's lesson: if you want to change your life, change your thoughts!

In my opinion 'good' and 'bad' are merely labels. However, for the purpose of this blog, the differentiation is necessary.

What is it that sets apart a 'good' day from a 'bad' day?

Look inwardly for a moment and ask yourself what or who has the power to determine this?

Are you someone who looks outside yourself, to people, experiences or things, in order to find gratification?

If you are, how about taking control and being a little more self-reflective?

My ingredients for a successful day are things that come from within and of me. Here are just a few, in no particular order:

- humour
- healthy-eating
- forward planning (clothes, timetable, transport etc)
- enough sleep
- exercise
- meditation
- positive intentions
- a sense of calm acceptance

The last 3 on the list are perhaps the most important for me. If you carry a lot of fear around, the chances are you will be focusing on what you don't want and as we all love to be right, we often inadvertently orchestrate the thing we want least without even realising it. This is called self-sabotage.

Meditation calms my mind and helps me think more positively. Afterall, there is no use in worrying about what hasn't happened yet. Much better to focus on the now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm human and my life is far from perfect. However, It is only by embracing the imperfections that I can move forwards.

Thought for the day: be self-reflective.

... at the fear and before you know, it will disappear!

I bet you think it's much more difficult than that, though, don't you?

The thing is, distraction can be a blessing here. If you concentrate hard enough on the problem, then I'm sure you will be able to hold on to it... But how about doing something different for once. Afterall, as Einstein famously said 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting DIFFERENT results'.

You can do anything if you set your mind to it. I'm no different from you. I was very scared of public speaking at one stage. However, I was determined to overcome it. Where there is a will, there's a way :)

Could you let go of the fear for just a moment and visualise success instead? Think about something that makes you smile or laugh.

It's all about externalising your focus and redirecting your energy. For instance, if your fear were public speaking, you could focus on helping your audience. Ask them questions, allow them to take part. This would take the pressure off you and engage your audience.

Set the intention to 'let go of your problem today' every time your mind says 'problem' scream back 'solution'!

I don't know about you, but I'm always reminding myself to be solution focused. For a long time, I understood the principle, but it wasn't engrained in my psyche. With each day that passes, I feel the concept infiltrating a little deeper into my neural networks, bringing me a little closer towards peace of mind.

Still, I often find myself holding on to the problem for a little while before becoming ready for the solution. It's almost as if I've been Pre- conditioned to experience my allotted amount of strife, but I'm becoming increasingly self aware and I KNOW that it doesn't have to be like this.

So many people live in the world of 'problem' and as you all know, it's impossible to be in two places at once, isn't it?

You need to let go of the problem before you can find a solution.

You may have read previous posts of mine about the unconscious mind. If you have, you will know that the unconscious mind is the part of your mind that does everything that you don't have to consciously think about.

The unconscious mind hears everything. It is aware of your thoughts, beliefs and internal dialogue and acts accordingly. So, be careful what you say to yourself. If you keep maintaining that you are always late, guess what will happen... Your unconscious mind will prove you right! The unconscious mind loves to be right. If you worry enough about that presentation and tell yourself enough times that you are going to be nervous or that you feel nervous, guess what will happen?

Now that's not to say that positive thinking alone will make that presentation a success, but it's a start and coupled with some solid preparation, it will make all the difference.

Thought for the day: think positively. After all, worry is a prayer for what you don't want!

I don't know about you, but I've often been guilty of labelling things as good or bad. This can create more problems than is necessary.

I often used to see problems where none existed. For instance, I teach a lovely little girl who just happens to get distracted during lessons. I previously labelled this as 'bad' and often asked her if she was still enjoying our Elocution lessons. She always said 'yes' and was immediately a little more conscientious... For about 2 minutes. I often left the house feeling frustrated and wondering how I could encourage her to work harder.

One day, I had a realisation. It is not her that needs to change, it's me. I have been expecting too much from her, just as I often expect too much from myself. Indeed, what we see as 'frustrating' in others is often more a reflection of us than it is of them.

My learning here was that, ultimately, any improvement in her speech would be welcome. After all, you cannot 'force' anyone to change. All You can do is guide them.

Interestingly enough, she has improved much more since I changed the way I felt about her progress!