Note: I recently shared this exercise only with my coaching clients. I thought I’d post it here too.
Do you ever worry about things you don’t control?
If you do, join the club. It happens to all of us.
But worrying is waste of time and energy. I’ll show you a little exercise from my class that will help you to stop worrying.
Imagine the following situation: You make a mistake at work that upsets a client.
Maybe you send someone a wrong email. Maybe you forget to solve a problem. It doesn’t matter what it is. Imagine that something goes seriously wrong at work.
What do you do when you find out? Do you stress out? Feel uncomfortable? Blame yourself? Blame others? Think it’s the end of your career?
When things go wrong, we become our own worst enemy because we focus on things we don’t control.
It’s one thing to read about these things. It’s another thing to actually put it in practice. Because when things go uterly wrong, messy and uncontrollable, it’s natural to panic.
Instead of thinking, take a step back, and focus on what lies within your control.
What do you control? Essentially, we only control our own actions and mindset.
We determine our:
- Desire
- Attitude
- Judgments
- Determination
That’s about it. Anything else, we have no control over. So it makes no sense to worry about things that are not on that list.
That’s a Stoic philosophy exercise. Something that exists for centuries.
And the best thing is that you can immediately apply this to your life. Next time you catch yourself worrying about a situation, focus on the things you control.
What counts is that we do the right thing because that is all we can do. We don’t control outcomes. Do you see?
- Made a mistake? Correct it.
- Something goes wrong? Find a solution.
Also, never be surprised when bad things happen. But rather expect them to happen. In that way, you will never be caught off guard.
Similarly, when you’re struck with bad luck, don’t complain and say stuff like, “why me!?”
Instead, accept it, and then focus your energy on finding a solution. Always keep a positive mindset.
Why this exercise improves productivity, you ask?
I’m often asked, “what does philosophy have to do with productivity?”
Well, if you want to be productive, the most important thing is consistency.
Productivity is not about eureka moments, your big break, pulling off all-nighters, or drinking Red Bull all day.
If you want to achieve things in your life, it’s about aiming for daily progress.
You want to exercise, read, work, learn, study, every single day.
Inconsistency is the enemy of results.
And that’s why I have started learning and incorporating Stoic and Pragmatism philosophy to improve my mental toughness. It’s also a big part of my system, Procrastinate=Zero. Of course, I’ll be sharing some very insightful words and wisdom here as I learn to practice more about it.
I don’t want ups and downs because that hurts productivity.
Instead, I want to progress at 0.1% every day of the year. That may seem like a really teeny-tiny number but practicing it everyday sure is a difficult task. Make it a habit. It’s worth it. And that’s a very realistic goal.
Try it and maybe it will change your life too.
Talk to you in the next blog post.
With love and inspiration,
Aishwarya Shah
Feel free to ask any questions or share your ideas in the comment section below. Alternately, I’d really appreciate for you to share this content on your social media platform if you found it useful so that others can benefit from it too. If you have any doubts or want a personal clarification, send me an email on eclipsedwords@gmail.com. For more inspiration, fun, and smiles, follow me on Instagram
Happy Blogging! ♥♥♥
Thank you for reading. Love you for that! ♥
—–Have Hope. Keep Faith—–
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Can a person feel troubled even if nothing is actually bothering him? And if he does , what is the problem?
Yes. Could be many unknown triggers like unresolved anger, hidden guilt, suppressed abuse, my feeling is that something is bothering you. Hopefully, you can get it resolved. Blessings.
Indeed well written
Very well written 👍
In life as in many instances, it is the small consistent steps forward each day that result in the greatest gains. Consistency is the key. One tiny step every day can lead to magnificent results over the long haul.
Thanks for posting
Your are right .
Love your words! Thanks you!
Hi Aishwarya, a great post indeed!! Keep sharing…: ))
Love your posts. Thanks
Good word. Thanks
As people, we always worry, even when there is nothing to worry about. It is in our nature and is part of what has helped us to evolve. Working towards the ability to release that worry is often the challenge…