EP 920 - Celebrating I Am In Control Day

“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.  As we evolved, being in control of our environment increased our chance of survival. It gave us a sense of certainty, completion, understanding, and predictability.

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.

Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating I Am In Control Day:

Take a deep breath and relax. The stress response can be fought by inducing the relaxation response. 

Assess the situation.  Gather the facts.  Sometimes just having all 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?

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.”

Looking for more ways to build your resiliency, take my free on-line vulnerability test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab.