"Why?" This is the eternal question mark in the lives of so many people who despair of finding success, love, security, and recognition. There is an answer to "why"!

"Why? Why am I singled out, among all others?" This is the plaguing question of so many of us who face unanswered problems, tensions, uncertainties. There's the same, solid answer here to "why"!

There is the ultimate answer to every "why" about every person's pattern of life, whether he has a wonderful, directed life or whether "life has been a mystery" to him.

The ultimate answer to why life is good or not so good is centered on the control of power that is possessed by each of us. Control of this power brings results as if "by magic." Lack of control of this power brings results that cloud our lives like "black magic."

This is the power of our habitual patterns of thoughts and beliefs. These patterns exert a continuous influence over our lives, a dominating influence that is in force 24 hours a day! They control our actions. When we lack control over our thoughts and beliefs, they can take us on an unpredictable, "take-a-chance" course of actions through life. When we do make them conscious and direct them, they will guide our actions unerringly along a course of our own choosing.

Have you ever peered into the 'looking glass" of human existence and seen the image of yourself there? Have you asked "What is life? What is my life?"

A thoughtful observation on this "image" of human existence would show that my life is a "reflection" of my action. My life is an exact image of what I do and what happens to me.

Twenty-four hours a day, our lives are a combination of physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual action. Even while we sleep, there is physical action in the refreshment of our body. There is often emotional action, as well.

If we could look in back of that mirror of our lives, we would find that everything we do and everything that happens to us is caused by some influence. For every minute of every 24 hours, some influence is motivating every one of our actions. These actions say about us: "This is my life!"

A straightforward way to describe our lives as they have been, and as they are today, would be for us to ask and answer this question: "How much of this power do I control and how much of it is left uncontrolled in my life?"

The achievement of a full life, and the claiming of our share of the world-full of opportunities that surrounds us, depends upon the balance of control of personal power of our thoughts and beliefs being in our hands, consistently. The key to this positive self-control is the making our habitual patterns of thoughts and beliefs conscious and therefore under our direct control.

I would like to recommend a short exercise. Look at your actions throughout your day, each day for one week. Keep a list. Keep it honest. After each action on the list, I want you to ask yourself whether this action was under your conscious control or whether this action was the result of uncontrolled thoughts and beliefs. This simple exercise, which no one else needs to see, will help you determine how much of the power you control and how much of the power you let run rampant, without any control.