If you look up the definition of the word “Change” you will find it described as making something different than it was. Change is all around us, in every aspect of our life. You see change in nature, in relationships, in your job, etc.
Almost all change is out of your control.
Even the most obsessively compulsive person who strives every minute of every day for control is taunted by this fact. Try as you might to stop it, your world will largely spin in any direction it wants without halting to ask you what reality you’d like to experience.
You can try to influence it, And on occasion, you might find yourself to be successful in some ways. For example, you can work really hard to get promoted. You go out of your way to find out what your boss needs from you, and then you make sure that happens. You outwork your coworkers, take extra courses that help you move up the corporate ladder, and you nail that big promotion.
While patting yourself on the back for your hard work and how it paid off, remember one thing … you initiated a change, but someone else had the final say in whether you got promoted or not.
That’s pretty humbling when you think about it.
If you take a look at any area of your life you’ll see that you don’t always have as much influence as you previously thought you did. The best you can do is work on yourself, your relationships, and your environment to create a favorable reality.
When when life steps in and throws some negative change in your face, ask yourself this question. “What Can I Control?”
Actions, thoughts, words, behavior, feelings
Imagine that you are going for a walk. It’s a beautiful day. The world has treated you to a spectacular experience with sunny skies, birds chirping, and stress-relieving nature all around you.
Then immediately in your pathway, a brick wall appears out of nowhere. It wasn’t there before, but it is now. It’s only a few feet wide, so you can easily walk around it. Instead of walking around it, you repeatedly try to walk through it.
You can’t control that this change has happened. What you can control is your response to it. Claim your sphere of control – your feelings, behavior, thoughts, words, and action. Do what you can do, which is to move around the wall and continue your enjoyable walk.
Life will give you a lot of change you’d rather avoid. When this happens, focus on those areas in which you have control. Determine what you can influence and what you can’t. Then take control of those area to turn something negative into the best possible outcome.
Focus on what you can control when you experience negative change. Trying to influence things that are blind to you is pointless. It wastes your time, cranks up your frustration, leads to depression, discouragement, anxiety and stress. Take charge of those areas you can control, and face the change realistically as it unfolds.