Control the Controllable
How often do you get wound up over things that are totally outside your control? Does it ever help? I expect not! It certainly doesn’t help me! Several of the athletes talked about this principle of focusing on only what was in your control. You cannot control what another person or team does, you can only concentrate on your own tasks and responsibilities. Another way of putting it is ‘focus on what’s in your boat’.
We cannot control outcomes. What Olympians teach us with such skill is that to win Gold, you put yourself in the best position possible, do your best, then let the outcome happen. If someone is better than you on the day, that’s fine. As long as you did all you were able to do. As long as you took care of what was in your boat.
As Carl Lewis said “You can only do what you can do, and let the chips fall as they may”.
So remember this, next time you are stressing about something: if it’s in your control, do something about it. If it’s not, let it go and focus back on what’s in your boat!
Love
Donna.x
Comments
4 responses to “Control the Controllable”
What a valuable experience for you! The serenity prayer is a perfect way to express this sentiment. Thank you for commenting! xx
I was a competitive athlete until my early twenties and feel like I got this lesson through sports. Nonetheless, a number of people in my life struggle with internalizing this lesson. I inevitably botch it when I try to quote it, but I always think of the Serenity Prayer when such ideas come up. (I was just misquoting it the other night.)
Brilliant wisdom.
Thank you.
Crystal
Thanks Yiye! And I’m glad you like the Olympic theme – seems like every blog I wrote this month is Olympic-related! Lol. xx
Thanks for sharing the wisdom Donna! so true that once we get the clarity of what is under our control, life seems to be a lot more light-hearted. Thanks a lot for the reminder! (btw, happy to see your olympics theme anyway!)
xx