What do we truly control?...

my recent thinking on this is - not much.

Everyday we are assaulted through news sources, both mainstream and alternative,  about all the goings on in the world. I would contend that close to 100% of what is going on is stuff we have absolutely no control over.

And yet many of us (you may call me guilty) spend untold hours perusing all these sources as though our lives depended on knowing everything, down to and including what our favorite entertainers had for breakfast. 

If the news is leaving you feeling out of control, it may be time to cut back on what you suck into your head.  

As part of my ongoing plans to declutter and simplify, I'm going to declutter and simplify my writing.  That means fewer words and fewer posts.

You see - the only things we can really control is ourselves, and our immediate surroundings. 

I suggest as an antidote to make this the year you take control of the things you can truly control.  A life that is humming along in an orderly fashion is a lot less likely to be overwhelmed by an increasingly out-of-control world.

Think of ways you can simplify your life. 

I'd say more, but I'm already over my word limit.  More tomorrow.

More:

From Desire to Reality: Why Setting Goals is Critical for Success 

Something to Ponder

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their conversation it turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups -porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate.