"Today I will not worry about that which I can not control"


Such a simple, direct quote. Doesn't really leave much room for interpretation does it? Or does it?


Think about all the things you worry about it your life. Take just a moment to analyze every fleeting thought that breezes through your mind in one day. Most of us worry....a lot. Maybe we don't have the big, full-blown, can't sleep, eat or concentrate worries but we all have the moments of angst, brow-furrowing, lip-chewing moments of uncertainty and concern. Those moments are technically moments of "worry" too. You can be having a conversation with a friend and actually see their emotions change to concern or worry for just a second if you watch their faces closely. Depending on the conversation, their eyes may drop or look away and their face and shoulders will drop just slightly. Or they may be strong enough to maintain eye contact with you but their eyebrows will scrunch together for a split second and the expression in their eyes will change from one of bright-eyed interest to a softly, slightly doe-eyed look. If they have a nervous habit, it will appear in this moment. Their body language will give you a dozen clues if you know what to look for. Most likely, your body language says the same thing to anyone watching you. 


My point in mentioning this is for you to become aware of your own emotions. We all worry about something a hundred times a day but most of us don't recognize it because we classify "worry" as a much stronger emotion, not realizing that it's available in a whole range of depth.


So humor me for a second and let's just assume we all agree with that statement. So we all worry a lot, then how much time is spent worrying about things we can not control? I bet right now you could make a list of everything buzzing through your mind and immediately divide each one into categories of things you can control and things you can't. Try it right now if you want to...it's really not that hard. Now take a hard look at the things you can't control and ask yourself if that's really true.


You can't control how someone acts or reacts but you can control how you deliver information to them, treat them or what you're willing to take from them. So you actually have a some control in this situation...maybe this item needs to be moved to the other side of your list.


You can't control the policies or procedures in your workplace but you can control whether or not you stay. So again, maybe you should move this one over.


You can't control the expectations of your bank, credit card companies or loan holders but you can decide how deep you're willing to dig and how extra hard you're willing to work to get out from under these loan sharks and never get in this position again....so move it on over.


You get the idea....maybe we have more control than we think. Nowadays, the word control gets a bad rap but the truth is, we are almost always a willing participant in every situation. We nearly always have some level of control...a piece of the pie...a skin in the game...ownership. The truth is there just isn't many situations that we can claim to an actual victim. 


So, in the end, I'm not suggesting we control everything so we should worry about everything. I'm suggesting we control everything so we shouldn't waste time worrying about but instead spend our time doing something to change it.


So do you feel motivated? Because I'd love to hear about it if you do...or don't....Ya know,in the COMMENTS section!!!