You may not think you can control anything in your life and become stressed out by that thought alone. But there’s good news. You can control some things in your life.

Five things you can control every day are:

1. Attitude- your attitude can either set you up for a day of good times or a day full of fear, failure, and defeat. All you have to do is choose which path you want to take. Do you want to wake up miserable every day or do you want to wake up with the confidence that you can do everything that you need to do and that you can do it with the power and strength that God has put within you? Remember Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Tell yourself that you can and will get through anything. Especially with God on your side.
2. Words-Your words can make or break your day too. You can control what comes out of your mouth just by stopping to think about what you say before you say something. Think about how your words will affect others regardless of the way you say it. Whether it’s out loud or through a text message to a friend or family member or through an email to your boss. Anything you say can change your life from that instant on. Be careful what you say because if you’re too negative no one will want to be around you. No one likes a negative Nelly. You can tell yourself that today you conquer the obstacles in front of you. You have power in your words. Your words affect not only you but the people around you too.
3. Effort-All you can do in your life is try your best at everything and forget the rest. Your effort towards something that challenges you is what builds your character. You can either give up or keep trying. No matter how challenging something is, you can make it through. Even if you end up failing at something or if something doesn’t go your way, at least you’ll know you tried your best. Trying your best is all anyone can ask for. Even if you end up failing at something you end up learning valuable lessons in the long run. You can learn from anything that God puts in front of you. He will also help you learn lessons in every area of your life. If you give your effort to do things for attention God won’t bless you for that. It isn’t good to do things just so people look at you or look to you. Wouldn’t you rather give your effort into helping people for God’s glory? Wouldn’t you rather put your effort into doing things in your life for God? He would rather see people do things for His glory without looking for any attention. Remember the verse that says “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers you do unto me.” (Mathew 25:40)

Make an effort to enjoy your life. Everything in life can be beautiful no matter what happens. Try to see the beauty in everything. Even though there are days where you can be stressed out, you can still feel the goodness of your life because of God’s mercy and grace. Try to make an effort to spend time with God each day. After all, if you chase after God, He will pursue you. If you spend more time with Him He will allow you to learn so much from Him and His word. Read the Bible every day and discuss verses that you love or are unsure about with people who you know you can trust.

4. Manners- Our manner always matter. Sure, there are days where you don’t want to be friendly to people and just don’t want to be nice. But remember, just because of how you may be feeling doesn’t give you the right to be rude to your family and friends or your coworkers or your boss. Remember your words can come back and haunt you so always be careful about what you say. You could end up hurting yourself, your career and your friendships if you don’t mind your manners. Manners are more than just not shaking someone’s hand during an introduction.
5. Actions- Let your actions speak louder than your words. Put actions behind the things you say you’re going to do. Most importantly keep your word and when you say you’re going to do things and make plans with someone, keep your word and keep the commitments. Even if you don’t want to, it’s better, to be honest with someone than just lead them on.

Whenever you don’t think there are things you can control in your life, remember these five. Also remember, you don’t have to control everything. God is the one who is in control already.