Reminder: Focus Only on What You Can Control

There are plenty of things going on around us every day that influence our thinking. From pandemics to politics, there is enough to think about and react to that we could easily forget that most of the time, we cannot alter the course of the events around us. And the last few months have been a clear example of that.

Deep inside you realize that your endless worry about events outside of you does nothing to change them. All you can do is be clear on what your highest values are, arrange your life in a way that is in accordance with those values and take action to manifest tangible outcomes that reflect those values.

The only thing you can expect from worrying about things you have no control over is poor health. I thoroughly believe, and there is science to back this up, that undue stress creates as much harm to one’s body as smoking, drinking or obesity.

The antidote is deciding what you can control and how you can respond to outside situations. Make plans for what you will do given certain situations. Plan on the worst and then forget it. If the worst happens, implement your plan.

Any pilot flying an aircraft knows that there is a possibility of a total loss of power that could have catastrophic consequences. Imagine if every time they got into the cockpit, all they did was worry about whether the engines were going to shut down. I would not want that person flying my aircraft! He or she would be distracted and tense and prone to making mistakes. Instead they have a plan in the event the worst does happen, and when it does, they carry out the plan.

My son is a helicopter pilot and spent time as an instructor and some of his scariest stories are about this very thing. Part of getting your license to fly a helicopter includes being able to land it without power using a technique called autorotation. He said he saw people break into tears or freeze entirely when he’d cut the engine to do the exercise. These people were worrying the consequences of something they could control, but were taken over by fear and lost their focus.

In fact, fear is the main thing that causes most needless worry. “What if I get sick?” “ If I miss the deadline, will I lose my job?” “ What if I miss a mortgage or rent payment?” And these things can spiral all the way down to imagining yourself on a street corner with a cardboard sign.

Creating a plan to address these issues is a topic for another day. For now, just think about it. What is taking up precious space in your mind for something that you can’t control?