The Illusion of Control

So much of what we experience in life is beyond our control. Every day we are subjected to things that we didn’t plan for, didn’t expect, or don’t want to deal with. Life happens every day and we are forced to take things as they come and adjust accordingly. We think we are fully in control of our lives and then something happens that reminds us of the illusion of control.

Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate the randomness of life. I used to live being focused on controlling every aspect of the world around me. It would frustrate me if it didn’t fit into a nice, little Rubik’s cube that I could understand. I guess you can say life has humbled me to the point where I know that I’m not in control of what happens, I can only control how I respond to it.

Focus on your response, the one thing you have power over, and your life will change for the better. Understand that life can be random and that things will happen that will likely never be explained. Appreciate the fact that you get to experience another day and find the silver lining in everything you experience. This journey on Earth comes to an end one day for us all. We can languish in the pain felt by what we encounter, or we can thrive in the joy that persists around us. You choose.

Dr. Isaac Addae is a first-generation Ghanaian American. He moved around a lot as a child and had to get…