After studying the research done in cognitive psychology over the last 25 years, I’ve come to a simple conclusion: The degree to which you feel in control of your life will largely determine your level of mental well-being, your peace of mind, your happiness and the quality of your interactions with people.

Cognitive psychologists call this a “sense of control.” It is the foundation of happiness and high achievement. And the only thing in the world over which you have complete control is the content of your conscious mind. If you decide to exert that control and keep your mind on what you want, even when you are surrounded by difficult circumstances, your future potential will be unlimited.

I’ve often spoken about three goals I believe pretty much all people have: to be happy, to be peaceful inside, and to be successful in the world. If I were to pick one term to encapsulate what I mean by all three of these, it would be that all humans wish to thrive. This series of articles, in large part, is about how to thrive. But instead of looking at the fine details, as we have when looking at your Internal Map of Reality, we’re going to look more at general principles. If you follow these principles, you’ll have the ingredients that will allow you to thrive in this life.