What’s In Your Control?
March 25, 2020
What is within our power- Our Intentions, opinions, motivations, desires, effort.
What is not within our power- How others react, their opinion of us, results.
If I were an archer trying to hunt a Deer. What is in my control?
- My practice of shooting arrows
- The choice and quality of the bow and arrow I use
- My focus at hunting down the Deer and taking the shot accurately.
Whether I succeed in shooting down the deer or not has many factors beyond my skill. The Deer may be moving fast, and even if I take an accurate shot, there could be a gust of wind that takes the arrow off target.
We are all like the archer in our day to day pursuits.
Someone is interviewing for a dream job or applying for a seat at an ivy league or setting up a business.
All that one can do is to put up the best effort, the best preparation. That is the locus of our control.
Whether one gets the desired outcome or not is dependent on many factors beyond our control. For e.g. for the dream job, there could be someone more prepared and more deserving even if one’s effort was extraordinary.
Our self worth should be attached not to the result but the effort.
Give your best and expect the best. If the best happens, celebrate your effort. If the best does not happen, revisit your best effort, and see if it can be improved or done differently. Focus on what you can control and accept what you can’t !!
