The power of the mind has been explored by countless spiritual teachers, scientists and metaphysical scholars through the ages. Even the process of goal setting implies that if we concentrate on a goal, it will happen down the road. Jesus said, "As you believe, so be it." He taught that faith is power. If faith is powerful enough to move a mountain, does it also shape our very lives? If so, faith could have a real down side – that is, if you have faith in the negative aspects of life.

The first of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism teach that life is suffering. Bad things happen in the world, and bad things can happen to good people. At times, it may seem like a huge sea of stormy weather is tossing our little ship. Sometimes, holding a positive thought seems impossible. And even if we trust our Higher Power to help us through, we all inevitably have to deal with challenges. As M. Scott Peck states in his famous book The Road Less Traveled, "Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it."

When things are hard, do you wonder if you ever had any influence over your life? How much power do we have to keep the bad stuff away? And where does the bad stuff come from, anyway? Does God send it upon us or do our own choices lead us to it? Life often seems to be a game of challenges, obstacles and influences. We may be gaining, losing or on a plateau. But no matter what, we are always learning – and, hopefully, gaining wisdom.

There are things we can control in life and there are things (especially people and their dramas) that we have no control over. Life-changing events happen, but how skillfully we handle them, with the resources at our disposal, also shapes the ultimate outcome. The most powerful tool we have to help us with life is our mind. It is our mind that decides if we are winners or losers. Happiness is an inside job dependent on our thoughts.

The mind is immensely powerful, for it can determine not only your happiness but your health. Science has documented the power of the mind for decades; new studies link the body into the equation. Energy psychology is proving that we can affect our thoughts by affecting our bodies, and that our beliefs are held energetically in the body. Our bodies can hold as much memory as our brains do. When we focus on positive things, our bodies strengthen and our health improves. Our own influence on ourselves is the greatest influence there is!

As any athlete can attest, a trained mind is much more powerful than an untrained mind. A trained mind can control pain, eliminate cravings, bring down blood pressure, dissolve tumors, and more. Every thought you think has an impact on your body because your body makes all the chemicals that create your feelings.

We would have more control over our lives if we would focus on controlling our minds. Our minds can make us miserable with negative thinking that produces negative emotions. It's not what happens to us that wound us; rather, it is the meaning we place on events and people that determine their impact upon us and how much we will suffer. We literally drive ourselves crazy or into poor health with our own thinking.

It is often a real temptation to blame our unhappiness on other people or the government or God, but the truth is that we manufacture it all in our own brains. A negative event can happen in moments. But the brain can keep it alive and repeating for the rest of our lives.

The general happiness factor of human beings hasn't improved much over the centuries. In fact, it may be worse. Depression was basically unheard of a century ago. Mental illness continues to rise, and the technology that has given us so much ease and pleasure has also given us more complications in life. Survival was simple in times of old, and life moved much slower. Our world has become very fast and complex. We want constant stimulation and instant gratification. If we can't have it, we are restless, bored and unhappy. We are constantly comparing ourselves to everyone else and coming up lacking.

Can you guess what the solution to this dilemma entails? We have to learn to train our minds. We need to put positive frames around life events and the people that populate our lives. How do we do that? It is simple – but not always easy. It can be hard to take control of our mind and think positive thoughts. But this is what we need to do.

Thought control is not for wimps. It is not always easy to train yourself to listen to your own thoughts. When thoughts are negative, we must intentionally turn them around, refusing to listen to the minds’ arguments. How do we do this?

Write notes of encouragement, or put up little signs. Hang around with positive people and groups. Get help by talking with your friends, a psychologist or hire a coach. Meditate, get a massage, take care of yourself and eat healthy. Healthy people naturally have a more positive head set. And don’t forget to pray. After all, joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.