The amazing part of being human is that no matter who you are there is always room to grow, room to expand into a new improved version of yourself. To be brutally honest, times are always changing and life forces you to adapt and grow anyway. Life won’t allow us to just sit there and remain the same. We can adapt and change (blossom into a fuller potential) or we will be dragged along kicking and screaming.
Now is the perfect opportunity to be flexible and most of you have already probably embraced the concept during the past few crazy months of the Corona Virus. For those still struggling with the huge disruptions to our daily lives, I would like to offer up one practical piece of wisdom that holds truth for humans in any era.
“If you waste your limited energy/thoughts/time on things that you have no control over, sooner AND later you will suffer”
We are going to keep this super practical. You need to figure out what is in your control and what is NOT. I would like you to write out a list of what you do for the day plus what things annoy you regularly along with what things bring you joy. This is an exercise in seeing where your attention goes and where you are leaking energy/enthusiasm for life.
I’ll start a list below to give some examples
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THINGS I CAN CONTROL |
THINGS I HAVE LIMITED OR NO CONTROL OVER |
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What food goes in my mouth |
The clown that runs America at the moment |
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What time I set the Alarm |
When restrictions will be lifted |
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Whether I press snooze 6 times or just get up |
If Burnie residents will stop coughing on each other |
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Performing Exercise for the day |
Your partners behaviour |
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Turning TV off and reading a book |
When the gym will re-open |
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If you play around with the 2 lists you should notice 2 very important realities
- You have almost no control over most thing on this planet or even in your life. A lot of people find this worrying. It isn’t. You got this far didn’t you?
- By putting energy into just the things you can control you will be able to lead an amazing life. By focusing on what you can actually influence you will feel like you are actually moving towards your goals and you will actively look for real solutions and the chance of success in whatever you focus on will be greatly enhanced.
You don’t need to waste time and energy on unnecessary things. We all do it to some degree, don’t feel bad. However, it really doesn’t serve us in terms of our goals and it is a great way to destroy our peace of mind. Give the List a go and I’ll catch you next week.