We need to constantly and consistently remind ourselves that we are here, now. Take a moment. Close your eyes. Run your fingers through your hair (or over your scalp for those who have difficulty with the last instruction!). Feel your arm muscles flex. Feel the textures on the palms of your hands and fingers. Get in touch with reality - nobody else will notice but it will make a world of difference for you.

I've had a couple of complaints that there haven't been any Normal People anecdotes for a while! One in particular. So this, Pat in Frankfurt, is for you!

During the course of a meeting in London yesterday, the person I was meeting disagreed with me when I suggested that you don't have to look far to find normal people behaving bizarrely. In reply, I mentioned to him that, fifteen minutes earlier, whilst having breakfast in Starbucks, I had come across a perfect example of homo-stupidus in his native environment.

A very well turned out gent waited for his Latte just in front of me. "Tall Latte for John" the assistant announced. "Has it got my cream in it?" John enquired. "Sorry sir, I'll put some in now." "You will not you stupid person" John retorted "I'm not drinking that - make me a new one, make it now!"

The manager got involved: "Sorry, sir" she said "everything is alright..." "No, everything is bloody not alright!" John shouted "That idiot couldn't even put my cream in my coffee!" John stamped his foot in temper. If you like, I'll repeat that, 'cos it really happened... John stamped his foot in temper.

Five minutes later John left with his creamed Latte and a voucher, a big smile on his face. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd done it just to get a free cup of coffee!

Every aspect of our daily lives, every aspect of the life that each day creates, is the product of our own behaviour which is borne out of our expectations about ourselves, others and the world at large. Mostly, those expectations are flawed - because we signed up to those expectations during our formative years and, for most of us, those years are long past.

Your daily experience, for better or for worse, is based on those expectations. Research has confirmed that we only experience what we expect to experience, that we only perceive what we expect to perceive.

Out of this pent-up, out-dated, irrelevant noise in the depths of our subconsious, arises our everyday behaviour or, more to the point, our automatic reactions to the events that we think are taking place. Who knows why John reacted to cream being omitted from his Cafe Latte? (See opposite!) John certainly doesn't - because John has never stopped to think about it.

We never stop to choose how to react to what we think is going on. If we did, we wouldn't sabotage ourselves in the little ways that we do. If we did, we wouldn't react to a difficult situation and, through our reactions, make that situation worse. If we were logical, thinking, intelligent beings, we would choose before we act. Instead, we react without choosing.

Life is completely different - much more fun, much easier, much more successful - if you choose how to behave... not in the big things that you do but in the little things. Because choosing to behave appropriately in the little things that apparently don't really matter equips us to choose to behave appropriately in the big things that affect or, perhaps, even change the course of our life.

So, take a couple of deep breaths before you do something that you'll regret (or worse, something that you should regret but your too blind to see it). Deliberately decide to be what you want to be today... right now. Deliberately choose how you behave. Deliberately notice whether what you're doing will add to your experience of life. Stop reacting. Stop behaving nonsensically. Remember to choose.