It’s almost discouraging to scan the papers or even social media because most of what you see is negative stuff – people arguing, fighting, violence both provoked and unprovoked.

“Why bother? Many of us have just thrown our hands up in despair. We give up? What’s the world come to? It’s such a mess.”

One of the most important lessons I learned in preparing for the 2022 Vol State race (and subsequently for life – too bad it’s several decades late) was that you should focus on only that which you can control. “Control the Controllables” for short.

Neither you nor I can control the state of the world. We can actually control so very little in our lives that that is often the source of our frustration and even our anger.

But you CAN control the way you behave in YOUR world. You can control your anger and your responses to people and their actions even if you can’t control their actions. Can you go a day without experiencing “frustration” at something? Can you make a pact with yourself to replace every negative thought with something positive? Take the controversy about Daylight Savings Time. You can’t do anything about that. Instead of letting the negative effects of all the name calling and derision get into your mind, why not prevent the spewing of the stress chemicals by thinking about the weather at this time of year (or if it’s still uncomfortable, think about what’s coming) and be grateful and happy about it. I walked to the mailbox this morning (the extent of my walking right now) and it was 58 degrees and glorious. I just took a minute to savor it.

Can you help someone in your apartment, on your block, in your neighborhood, in your community? You can control what you do and who you give to. You can’t control their reactions so don’t do it to gain appreciation and be thought of as a wonderful person. Do it because it gets you out of the “the world is a mess” thinking process.

Or, just concentrate on something in your life that you can control and that will make you feel good. Can you go to bed earlier at least one night a week? Then, maybe 2 or 3 and so on? Can you not get a latte one day a week and donate that money – or put it in a special jar for a surprise you can get for someone or for yourself?

There’s a myriad of ways you can change things in your life so it’s not a mess. We change the world one step and one person and one response at a time.

Make a list of things in your life (see the word cloud image I included and make your own). Then, circle those that are in your control. Copy that to a separate list that you can keep in front of you whenever you need to remind yourself. A car cuts in front of you. Can you control that? No. But, do you have to get upset by it? Nope! That’s within your control!