Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Thought for the Day - Just Do What's In Your Control Well

I think I have finally found the mantra to success - in my head I mean. After years and years of trying to figure it out, I have finally come to the conclusion that the secret to doing anything well, the secret to feeling good and happy, the secret to success and health, lies in only one thing - knowing what is in your control and doing it well. That is all.
Stop worrying about the rain, keep at it
Know what you need to do. Do all the things that you need to do - that are within your control - until there is nothing else left to do in your control. And then look up to see where you have reached. My bet is that you would have certainly progressed much further on your journey than you would have otherwise.

Most times we expend all our energy on worrying about things we cannot control, things that are not related to what have set out to achieve, and spread our energy thin. In fact this keeps all our energies diffused and keeps us worrying about all the things that could happen (that are out of our control anyway) and we never get to start on the one thing we should be working at - what is in our control. What it also does is that it keeps us from working so this is also the mantra for lazy and shoddy and bad work.

From jobs to games, health to relationships, this is the secret of preparation. Just know what is in your control and do them fully, and well. When we do that (the little things normally) we find that we have learnt something that makes us expand our area of interest and expertise. And we grow. And by doing that well, we grow some more and on and on. But its always about doing what is in our control well.

For example a cricketer who wants to play higher grade cricket can always sit and worry about competition, about lack of opportunities, about bad selections, bad coaches, bad umpires and so on and on, but how does that help? He could instead be spending his time working out, finding a good coach, practising hard, developing his skill, his mental and physical ability and become more and more match prepared. Similarly young professionals in jobs also blame the entire environment for not doing their jobs well instead of just getting the things in their control done. When we reach the 100% of what's in our control, we normally find things changing for our own good. We are already well down the road.

This keeps focus off unnecessary stuff and on what is important. Real work gets done, however small, and energy is not wasted in blaming and worrying and cribbing. And we grow and we are happy with our growth and action and progress, and we are healthy and wealthy, and it spreads all around. Simple huh?

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