Life is like the ocean: sometimes it’s stormy, choppy, and a complete mess. Other times it’s calm and perfect. In today’s tough, tuned-in, plugged-in world - thanks to a slew of amazing technological advances - people are now always in the know on war, natural disasters, economic trouble, social problems and crime.
This 24/7 access is causing a kind of collective anxiety and helplessness.
Anxiety comes from clinging to the illusion of control. We want power and authority over our futures. We want to feel that we have a say in how things will go for us. When we perceive that our actions will make an outcome likely, we feel optimistic and secure. When we don’t, we feel insecure. We feel like victims.
But the tighter you cling to the idea of controlling uncontrollable events, the greater your anxiety — because you inevitably fail.
For a surfer, every time he gets in the water it’s a risk, every time he paddles for a wave it’s a risk, and every time he catches wave it’s a risk. Surfing is completely unpredictable (which keeps the surfer constantly coming back for more).
There’s a strong correlation between your success and your tolerance for risks in both the ocean and life – and both require the same approach and process : it’s important to separate out the things you can control from the things you can’t.
In other words, the all-too-true motto: The only thing you have control over is yourself.
The ocean doesn’t care about you. It is a force of nature that existed long before you were born and that will be around long after you turn to dust.
When a big wave knocks you over and holds you underwater, it wouldn’t make much sense for you to get mad at it, right? But really, we operate that way all the time, fighting forces of life that are as unavoidable as the strength and immensity of the ocean.
Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s a waste of time, and a waste of energy. We operate under the illusion of control when so many of the most important things in life aren’t even close to the realm of our control. But this doesn’t have to be a terrifying concept.
When you release yourself from the illusion of control, you can relax. You can put in your best effort but let things turn out how they’ll turn out. You can find moments of joy in the most simple things.
Like surfing, it's all about capitalizing on the situation at hand because it’s totally different every time. Ride the ups and downs and conditioned yourself to keep changing.
This 24/7 access is causing a kind of collective anxiety and helplessness.
Anxiety comes from clinging to the illusion of control. We want power and authority over our futures. We want to feel that we have a say in how things will go for us. When we perceive that our actions will make an outcome likely, we feel optimistic and secure. When we don’t, we feel insecure. We feel like victims.
For a surfer, every time he gets in the water it’s a risk, every time he paddles for a wave it’s a risk, and every time he catches wave it’s a risk. Surfing is completely unpredictable (which keeps the surfer constantly coming back for more).
There’s a strong correlation between your success and your tolerance for risks in both the ocean and life – and both require the same approach and process : it’s important to separate out the things you can control from the things you can’t.
In other words, the all-too-true motto: The only thing you have control over is yourself.
The ocean doesn’t care about you. It is a force of nature that existed long before you were born and that will be around long after you turn to dust.
When a big wave knocks you over and holds you underwater, it wouldn’t make much sense for you to get mad at it, right? But really, we operate that way all the time, fighting forces of life that are as unavoidable as the strength and immensity of the ocean.
Why do we do this to ourselves? It’s a waste of time, and a waste of energy. We operate under the illusion of control when so many of the most important things in life aren’t even close to the realm of our control. But this doesn’t have to be a terrifying concept.
When you release yourself from the illusion of control, you can relax. You can put in your best effort but let things turn out how they’ll turn out. You can find moments of joy in the most simple things.
Like surfing, it's all about capitalizing on the situation at hand because it’s totally different every time. Ride the ups and downs and conditioned yourself to keep changing.
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