Should We Control The Controllable?

This week’s short "Note to Self" to keep your thinking on track…

Should we control the controllable?

In sport and performance psychology we have a famous phrase...

Control the controllable.

It's a phrase that orients people's attention to elements of an adversity over which they have some volition. It's a cue to help us know on what it is better for us to focus in a given challenging situation. Usually it changes a fixation on outside events (e.g. an unfair decision by an authority figure like a coach or a referee) to what we are doing, saying or thinking.

The controllable in this sense is a useful point of focus.

But, the idea of control as an action rather than a point of focus can be problematic. This is because control can mean self pressure and self judgment leading to stress and often under performance.

From a motivational perspective, adopting a mindset of curiosity about the controllable may serve us better.

Without controlling you can curiously assess the challenge in front of you without being overly stressed allowing you to generate goal oriented actions.

Curiosity to leads to problem solving and problem solving leads to solutions.

Think about it…

My weekly message is designed to keep your thinking on track in a busy world. Keeping it short yet still thought provoking.

Let me know if it works for you.