fbpx
Menu

50 Things You Can Control Right Now

crystal ball

“Why worry about things you can’t control when you can keep yourself busy controlling the things that depend on you?” ~Unknown

CNN reports that psychic businesses are thriving in this challenging economy, and the clientele has expanded to include more business professionals who are worried about their financial future.

According to Columbia Business School’s Professor Gita Johar, who studies consumer behavior, the greatest motivation for visiting a psychic is to feel a sense of control.

Sure, there are lots of things we can’t control: businesses may fold, stocks may plummet, relationships may end—the list is infinite, really. But wouldn’t we be far more effective if we focused on all things we can control instead; if we stopped worrying about the indefinite and started benefiting from the guaranteed?

Right now, you can control:

1. How many times you smile today.
2. How much effort you exert at work, or, if you’re not working, how you think about your time off.
3. Your level of honesty.
4. How well you prepare, mentally or physically.
5. How you act on your feelings.
6. How often you say “thank you.”
7. When you pull out your wallet for luxuries.
8. Whether or not you give someone the benefit of the doubt.
9. How you interpret situations.
10. Whether or not you compete with people around you.
11. How often you notice and appreciate small acts of kindness.
12. Whether you listen or wait to talk.
13. When you walk away from a conversation.
14. How nice you are to yourself in your head.
15. Whether you dwell on negative thoughts or let them go.
16. Whether or not you form expectations of people.
17. Whether you eat healthy or unhealthy food.
18. How you respond to someone’s question or email or call.
19. How much time you spend worrying.
20. Whether you try new things or do what you’ve always done.
21. How often you move your body (if you have the privilege of being mobile).
22. How many times you swear in traffic (if you’re fortunate enough to own a car).
23. Whether or not you plan for the weather.
24. How much time you spend trying to convince people you’re right.
25. How often you think about your past.
26. How many negative articles you read.
27. The attention you give to your loved ones when you see them.
28. How much you enjoy the things you have right now.
29. Whether or not you communicate things that are on your mind.
30. How much physical stuff you accumulate.
31. What books you read.
32. Whether you honor your values or not.
33. How deeply you breathe when you experience stress.
34. How many times you admit you don’t know something—and then learn something new.
35. How often you use your influence to help people instead of focusing on building your influence.
36. When you ask for help.
37. Which commitments you keep and cancel, or, if you have to cancel many for health reasons, how kind you are to yourself when you do it.
38. How many risks you take.
39. How creative/innovative you are in your thinking.
40. How clear you are when you explain your thoughts.
41. Whether you formulate a new plan or act on your existing one.
42. How much information you get before you make a decision.
43. How much information you share with people.
44. Whether you indulge unhealthy habits or work to replace them with healthy ones.
45. Whether or not you judge other people.
46. How often you tune into your senses to pull yourself into the moment.
47. How much of what other people say you believe.
48. How quickly you try again after you fall.
49. How many times you say, “I love you.”
50. Whether you focus on what’s going right or what seems to be going wrong.

Odds are, some of these resonate with you more than others, and that’s okay. You can’t do fifty things at once anyway.

And some of these things may not be in your control, if, for example, you’re struggling with a debilitating illness. But I’m willing to bet the majority of these things are still within your grasp. The point is to focus on what you personally can control, even if your list differs from mine.

When I start fixating on something I can’t control, I pick just one of these to think about instead. Minor changes in thinking, I’ve found, lead to major changes in my reality. Do you have any to add to the list?

Photo by Steve Dean

**This post has been revised to incorporate valuable feedback from a Tiny Buddha community member.

About Lori Deschene

Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others to do the same. You can find her books, including Tiny Buddha’s Gratitude Journal and Tiny Buddha’s Worry Journal, here and learn more about her eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story, if you’re ready to transform your life and become the person you want to be.

See a typo or inaccuracy? Please contact us so we can fix it!
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
122 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
trackback

[…] post, 50 Things You Can Control Right Now, will give you some ideas to get started. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "March 22, 2010", url: […]

Mike Shippey

Lori – this is GREAT! And so important.
It lifts a huge burden when we focus on the things that we have absolute control over, and release the things that we don't.
It is also how we begin to achieve meaningful results in all areas of our lives.
Thanks for posting!
All the best,
MS

Joe Fortino

I love this! Thank You.

crankepants

Thankyou that was beautifully timed.

[…] search can make one feel so helpless. If you are feeling discouraged, check out this article about 50 Things You Can Control Right Now. Posted by Sarah Bell on March 23, 2010 No […]

kristenlazzara

Thanks. I needed that.

Ari

These are great points, but I thought #46 was worded with some judgement. There are many reasons someone might have a “strange resistance” to soap or deodorant that are really not that strange but simply natural. You can smell good by bathing without any products. Besides, the idea of smelling “good” or “bad” is so subjective; one woman's perfume is another woman's chemical sensitivity and one man's body-odor is another's musky turn-on!

Lori Deschene

You're most welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed this post!

Lori Deschene

Hi Ari! That was actually just my attempt at being funny. I didn't think anyone might actually have a resistance to soap–but you're right. Some people use natural products, and everyone finds different scents appealing. My apologies if that part of this post offended you. ~Lori

Jeanette

Rest at night? What's that?

[…] or email or family or life itself seems wildly out of control, peruse Lori Deschene’s list of 50 things you can control right now. One item she mentions that I champion? “When you answer someone’s question–or […]

[…] to another site, new to me, called “Tiny Buddah” and a very good post there called “50 Things You Can Control Right Now”. I think it’ll open your eyes to what you can handle and what you don’t need to worry […]

trackback

[…] amid chaos. There will always be things you can’t control–and yet just as many chances be in control the second you decide to take […]

dialateinthedark

this is so important. thank you! I read it daily.
xoxo

[…] 50 Things You Can Control Right Now SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "10 Things That Are Real (How to Take a Break & Connect with Yourself)", url: "http://dev.tinybuddha.com/blog/10-things-that-are-real-how-to-take-a-break-and-connect-with-yourself/" }); tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; tweetmeme_url = 'http://dev.tinybuddha.com/blog/10-things-that-are-real-how-to-take-a-break-and-connect-with-yourself/'; tweetmeme_source = 'tinybuddha'; Share blog comments powered by Disqus var disqus_url = 'http://dev.tinybuddha.com/blog/10-things-that-are-real-how-to-take-a-break-and-connect-with-yourself/ '; var disqus_container_id = 'disqus_thread'; var facebookXdReceiverPath = 'http://dev.tinybuddha.com/wp-content/plugins/disqus-comment-system/xd_receiver.htm'; var DsqLocal = { 'trackbacks': [ ], 'trackback_url': 'http://dev.tinybuddha.com/blog/10-things-that-are-real-how-to-take-a-break-and-connect-with-yourself/trackback/' }; […]

dialateinthedark

this is so important. thank you! I read it daily.
xoxo

[…] usually when people feel powerless, trapped, and out of control that they spiral down through a host of negative […]

[…] of dwelling on everything that’s out of your hands, focus on things you can actually control. How honest you are about your feelings. Whether you take responsibility or blame other people. […]

cynthia

I loved this post! You're totally right about our ability to control only certain parts of our life, but there are so many of those which we CAN control! Thanks for the inspiration. =)

Pam Grushkin

A worthwhile read.

[…] I came across this list on tinybuddha of 50 Things You Can Control Right Now. you guys know how much I love lists, especially shiny sparkly hippie ones that contribute to our […]

[…] about. Focus on things you can control, and back them up with actions right now. This list of 50 things you can control may give you some […]

carolyn

I want to thank you for publishing this. I read it during an overseas trip, and it really helped me. I have a fear of flying, and on the way from one location to another, we experience turbulence the entire 2.5 hour flight. I recalled this post and told myself that I can't control the wind, but I can control my breathing and my heart rate. I calmed down and found a good place to be during the flight. Since then, I have used this method to remind myself that I am in control of what I feel, how I act and what I think.

Lori Deschene

You are most welcome. I'm so glad this post helped you in a potentially difficult situation. I also have a fear of flying, so I know how that experience can be. Thank you for this comment–what a beautiful reminder to take what we learn off the page!

[…] as possible or as combative as possible, and still not change reality for someone else. All you can control is what you think and do–and then do your best to help them without hurting […]

[…] you may enjoy today’s post, 6 Steps to Work Through the Pain of Change; or from the archives, 50 Things You Can Control Right Now. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "May 26, 2010", url: "http://dev.tinybuddha.com/quotes/may-26-2010/" }); […]

[…] to focus on the things that I can control. Recently, I came across Tiny Buddha and a post called 50 Things You Can Control Right Now. I liked reading about the things that I can actually do something about. I tend to spend a lot of […]

[…] know I shouldn’t worry about things I can’t control, but sometimes as I lay in bed, I go over and over the same thoughts and concerns in my […]

[…] 50 Things You Can Control Right Now […]

[…] 50 Things You Can Control Right Now: We experience days when something throws a wrench in our plans that we think our lives are spiraling out of our control. This is a great list to review whenever you feel this way. [Link: Susan Fletcher] And 50 Things to Love About Life That Are Free. […]

air jordan 21

Well , the view of the passage is totally correct ,your details is really reasonable and you guy louis vuitton handbags give us valuable informative post, I totally agree the standpoint of upstairs. I often surfing on this forum when I m free and I find there are so much good information we can learn in this forum!

D Collins

Excellent list Lori – Thanks for posting this list of excellent insights – I really enjoyed reading it and will refer to it frequently. Good stuff.
Dan

[…] package on its way from Amazon. 8. Shined my kitchen sink last night, a la FlyLady. 9. Finding this:http://dev.tinybuddha.com/blog/50-things-you-can-control-right-now/ 10. Smiling at you […]

[…] 50 Things You Can Control Right Now – With my crazy anxiety I really like this list. It makes me feel better. […]

[…] shows feeling out of a control is leading cause of unhappiness and stress. Though there are things you cannot control, you are far […]

[…] shows feeling out of a control is leading cause of unhappiness and stress. Though there are things you cannot control, you are […]

[…] know I shouldn’t worry about things I can’t control, but sometimes as I lay in bed, I go over and over the same thoughts and concerns in my […]

[…] as possible or as combative as possible, and still not change reality for someone else. All you can control is what you think and do–and then do your best to help them without hurting […]

[…] 6. Focus on what you can control. […]

Paris

love!

[…] Instead, ask yourself, “What can I do to solve the problem?” And if you can’t solve it, where can you focus your energy more productively? What things can you control? […]

[…] it will go out and whether or not you’ll be on it. But neither of those things are things you can control. Stress arises when we can’t let go of this notion–that we can’t control what is […]

[…] it will go out and whether or not you’ll be on it. But neither of those things are things you can control. Stress arises when we can’t let go of this notion–that we can’t control what is unknown to […]

[…] 50 Things You Can “Why worry about things you can’t control when you … on the things that we have absolute control over, and release the things … […] usually when people feel … […]

[…] 4. Strengthen your ability to focus on things you can control. […]

Sreyasabina

I was about to send this to a friend, and then realized how unfair #50 would seem to her, since her kids are sick and she has close to zero control how much rest to get at night!

Sreyasabina

#50 does have to go. Only someone who has never been a parent could include it! :

Sreyasabina

#50 does have to go. Only someone who has never been a parent could include it! :

Sreyasabina

#50 does have to go. Only someone who has never been a parent could include it! :