When the World Is in Chaos, Control What You Can

There are times in our lives when we are confronted with the reality that we are not in control of the world around us.

As hard as we try, and as much as we’d like to think we’re in control, the reality is, we are not. And there are seasons and circumstances that remind us of that fact.

A natural disaster, a terminal diagnosis, a wayward son, an unexpected layoff… each of those come to mind as examples.

At this current moment in time, almost everyone in the world, simultaneously, is being confronted with the reality of lost control through the spread of a virus. A tiny virus, invisible to the naked eye, has brought the world to a screeching halt, disrupting everything in its path—even life as normal.

Our control has been upended. No doubt about it.

We, of course, never had as much control over our lives and the world as we thought we did, but still, it is hard to lose the little that we had. The world, it feels, has spun into chaos.

So how do we respond when the world is in chaos? How do we begin to move forward?

For one, we take back control of what we can control—even in the smallest of ways.

We’ve all been reminded that we are not in ultimate control of the universe. But that doesn’t mean we’ve lost all ability to maintain control over our lives. Even if our usual day-to-day opportunities have been taken from us by another, there is still much we can control.

For example:

We can still control what time we wake up in the morning.

We can still choose to get ready in the morning for the day ahead.

We can eat healthy. We can remain physically active.

We can make our bed in the morning, we can choose to reset our home in the evening.

We can choose what we watch and listen to, and we can control what time we turn off the television at night.

We can always control our attitude and our response to the people and events around us.

We can love our family.

We can choose kind words in conversations.

If you are a man or woman of faith, you can choose to rely upon it during this time.

We can still decide to make the most of each day in front of us.

Controlling what you can might not seem like much, but it’s something.

Actually, it’s a lot more than something. It is an essential strategy for each of us going forward.

It is the first step in moving from a reactive life to a proactive one. And it is the first step in making the most of our current circumstances.

So, focus your energy there, even if it seems like very little. When the world is in chaos, control what you can.

Stay healthy, stay well, and stay focused. We’ll get through this together.

from Becoming Minimalist https://ift.tt/2JFSuaH