I remember the first company car my Father ever received; it was a brand-new Rover with electric windows and a sunroof. It was the early eighties; I was eight or nine, and I thought the world had come alive.

Driving along, with our hands sticking out of the sunroof, the stereo blasting my Fathers beloved Meatloaf and his favourite “Bat out of Hell” album, I will never forget singing along at the top of my voice. This was living, and I felt unstoppable. Life was so exciting, and all my dreams seemed possible.

Listening now to Bat out hell I can still feel my pulse quicken as I remember those joyous moments like they were yesterday. I can feel the energy and the purpose of the song as it builds to a crescendo, I feel my heart race and my energy lift, I can’t help smiling as I realise that anything is possible when we are in this mindset.

So much of the outcomes we achieve in our lives are governed by the way we feel. I’m beginning to believe that we have far more control over “how we feel” than I previously thought. Your mood doesn’t have to be random, and it doesn’t have to be dictated by others.

It’s possible to lift your spirit and improve your mood with the simplest of things, a song we love playing on the radio, the scent of a candle, the smile of someone we love, the warm feeling of the sun on your skin. The key is to notice these things, to celebrate them and to give yourself the time to appreciate them. In doing so, we cultivate a feeling of gratitude for the life we have.

This feeling of gratitude is what we must harness in our pursuit of a happy, fulfilled life. Being happy is about appreciating what you have now rather than seeking more tomorrow.  I have started writing a “gratitude” journal in the evenings to record three things that have happened each day that I feel grateful for.

It’s such a simple exercise but one that I wholeheartedly recommend. As you think over the day looking for good things that have happened, you will feel this deep warm glow inside for the life you have. Do please give it a go!

Don’t try to write ten pages; just a few paragraphs are enough. Do it each day, make it a part of your bedtime routine, buy yourself a beautiful book and place it somewhere convenient. No need to share what you write; it is your private record of the little things that bring you joy.

Together, we climb the mountain, not in giant leaps but one small step at a time.