Resiliency Secrets To Celebrating I Am In Control Day

Having Control

“I am in Control Day” is a call to action. It is your chance to get things in order and under control.

We humans have a powerful need to control the world around us. In the same respect, not being in control, creates an enormous amount of stress. A great example is the movie with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler. The real title is Anger Management, but really it was about not being in control that lead to the angry outbursts. As we evolved, being in control of our environment increased our chance of survival. It can give us a sense of certainty, completion, understanding, and predictability.

What Is The Point Of Being In Control?

The need for control covers our basics such as food, shelter, and our social connections. Even our health can be impacted by the need for control, to the point where we often hear very ill people say that their disease is bad enough, but not being able to control it, is even harder to deal with.

When we can’t completely control something, then we can use trust, routines and rules to help us with a sense of control. We trust authority figures to keep us safe and make the right decisions. We can also trust in a ‘higher’ power. Routines and rules help to keep things more predictable.

Beverly’s Hot Tips For Celebrating I Am In Control Day:

Take a deep breath and relax. The stress response can be fought by inducing the relaxation response. Being relaxed will help you implement the other suggestions.
Assess the situation. Gather the facts. Sometimes just having all of the information about what you are facing can help you to feel more in control. Be sure that you are not over-exaggerating the situation.
Next, ask yourself what you can do to problem solve the situation? What choices can you make that will help you resolve this?
Are their routines that you can put into place that will help to make things more efficient or effective?
If this is not something that you yourself can resolve, who is in the best position to help you with this issue? How can you approach them and ask for the help?
Is this something that ‘time will tell’? Do you have to wait it out? If yes, then understand that this is also a way of problem solving. You are doing something. You are trusting.
Focus on the things that you do have control of, even if they are the little things.

“Remember, we always have choice about the way we live our lives. We may not be able to control everything and often control is more of an illusion. But when we give up choosing, we truly are out of control.” Beverly Beuermann-King Click to tweet

If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!