I’ve been thinking lately about how our mood and our attitude is always our choice. It’s easy to feel like we don’t have control. When bad things happen it’s natural to feel angry, fearful, pessimistic, worrisome… whatever it may be. But the more we realize that we can choose how we respond, the more in control—and peaceful—we will actually feel.

I read somewhere that the average human has about 50,000 thoughts per day. That’s a lot! It’s inevitable that some of those thoughts will be negative. But being aware of them and the fact that we can choose what we do with them is what will ultimately determine how fearful or unhappy we are. Sometimes we just have to practice ignoring the negative thoughts. Ignore the fear before it convinces you that you’re not capable, not good enough. Learning to take your fears less seriously (since all they are are negative thoughts anyway) is key in remembering what’s real.

Danger is real, fear is a choice.