If something ’s out of your control, should you still worry about it? | Oliver Burkeman

There ’s a freedom that comes with realising you have more influence over your life than you thoughtRecently – oh, no particular reason – I’ve found myself returning to the ancient philosophical idea known as“the dichotomy of control”. “Some things are within our power, while others are not,” wroteEpictetus, the Greek Stoic, in a line you ’d be justified in dismissing as obvious, if it weren’t for the fact that we ignore its ramifications every day, and suffer as a result. In every situation, there are things we can control and things we can’t, and struggling to control the latter is a recipe for anxiety and stress. “Partial control”, like the kind I have over my three-year-old’s behaviour, can be broken down into the two: I usually have total control over what I say or do; and none, technically, over how he reacts.It ’s an idea that’s echoed widely elsewhere, for example in theSerenity Prayer, associated with Alcoholics Anonymous, and in anobservation with Buddhist origins: if a problem can be fixed, there ’s no need to worry about it; and if it can’t be fixed, well, why bother worrying?Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Health & wellbeing Psychology Life and style Source Type: news