THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL

„God looks at your plans whenever he needs a good laugh“

We all want to be in control of our lives. We tell ourselves that with willpower, dicipline, goals and plans we are in charge of where our life is headed.

The truth is that life is very unexpected, as shown by this huge pandemic that changed most of our lives within a matter of weeks. All the plans we made are now worthless or have to be modified to be executed.

But not only global pandemics change the way we live – there are many unexpected events happening every day. Unexpected pregnancies, deaths or sickness can change us and our paths.

Small things like that happen all the time and we just have to deal with them. Especially if our plans depend on other people for their completion, it can be very frustrating. Let’s say you crave pizza for dinner but when you call you find out that the delivery guy of the only pizza place that delivers to your house is sick in bed.

Is this a simple inconvenience or is there something greater behind it? Do these things happen as coincidences or are they part of a bigger plan, one we cannot see?

Sure, it is always good to have a goal to work towards but ultimately how you get there and what the destination exactly looks like is most likely very unexpected.

You only have real control over 3 things: what you think, what you say and the actions you take. So let us focus on these things in order to change our lives. Everything else is not in our control, even if it sometimes feels like it is.

Have you ever let go of control completely and put your life into the hands of faith?
Me neither.
That kind of sounds like giving up your own dreams to me. Many spiritual and/or religious teachers tell you to have faith and trust the universe/god to guide them the way. Do you agree with this concept?

Whatever you believe in, a good balance is neccessary in order to get anywhere. Think of it as riding a bike, you have to keep your balance to keep moving. Focus on what you can control, keep your vision and goals infront of you but let go of everything else.

Do you think you are in control over your life or do you believe there is someone/something else guiding your path?

„Life is what happens while you are making plans.“