There are two sides of control – those things you can control and those things you can’t control. Once you realize this, life becomes simple.
Yelling at the traffic gets you no closer to your destination; however, it does raise your stress which can take you to the FINAL destination quicker.
Trying to control something that is beyond your control is a waste of energy. And almost everything is outside of one’s control: your height, your health, your friends’ attitudes, the weather, your co-workers, and in reality – everything is outside of your control except one thing.
The one thing that is 100% in your control is your mind – but this is one thing that people DON’T try to control.
When you get upset at the weather, your boss or spouse – you are in one form or another tying to control something outside of your control. Realizing that you don’t have control allows you to do one of two things – continue to try to control it or realize that you have a choice on how you RESPOND to the situation.
If you are stuck in traffic – you can yell and get upset or realize that you are not in control of the situation and just go with it. While you are stuck, breathe deep, look at the trees, play the alphabet game, you are going to get there when you get there.
By realizing what is within our control and what is not, allows us to form new relationships with our feeling, responses, and actions. You have the ability to say “Oh, traffic ahead…. Take a breath” or you could say something more colorful and far less helpful.
TAKEAWAY: He who controls their mind – wins.