Most people think that they smile when they're happy and that the smile follows the feeling. But the opposite is true. The happy feeling follows the smile.

If you don't believe that then try smiling constantly for five minutes. It'll feel forced at first but the action of changing your facial muscles to adopt a smile floods the brain with the feel-good neurotransmitters which are the chemicals which cause us to "feel good"

Here are some reasons to smile:

1. You'll make yourself happy by releasing feel good neurotransmitters

2. You'll also have programmed the subconscious to look out for other like-minded smiley people.

3. People respond in kind so they'll smile back (firing off their neurotransmitters making them feel happy  which in turn will  infect someone else therefore doing the whole world a favour)

4. It takes about twenty muscles to smile, over seventy to frown. You do the maths. Why do all that extra work?

Your biochemistry and therefore your emotions are also affected by what you say to yourself. Do you repeat the same phrases, use negative terms and dismiss things all day long? Do you say, "it can't be done" or "Why does this always happen to me?"

If you can't control your emotional state then you must be addicted to the hormones that are released when you're in that particular emotional state. You may have to consider that you might be addicted to cynicism. A classic addiction that is the only known cure for success and joy.

The only thing that prevents you from having what you want in life is the story you tell yourself which says you can't have it.

Ayd Instone is a motivational speaker, trainer and coach.