Control the Controllables.

I have to credit the title of this post to Gerry Duffy and his excellent book ‘Tick, Tock, Ten’. He used this phrase describing ways to stay in control when he seemingly had lost control of certain functions during his Deca-Ironman event in the UK. For the curious among you a Deca Ironman is 10 Ironman races in 10 consecutive days with a time limit on each day.

This phrase is quite useful for most of us in everyday life as well. How often do you feel out of control? You feel others are dictating your pace, your wellbeing, your stress levels, your workload, your financial security or even your peace of mind. We feel lost and out of control and seek solace talking about his with our peers or escape the real world through TV, food, alcohol or drugs to give but a few examples.

So here we are letting others dictate how we feel.  Is that what we really want? What would it mean to be back in control of almost all things in life? Is that possible? Yes it is.

Simply answer the following questions for yourself each time you feel a situation is out of your control:

What can I DO about this situation to make it better for me?

 What is the outcome I WANT from this situation?

How do I NEED to react to achieve that outcome?

The honest answers to these questions (which may include asking for help from others) should give you a level of control back over any situation. You choose how to react in order to get the outcome you want. Do this often enough and it will become a habit. A habit of being in control regardless.

How would that feel?

Have a wonderful day.