Why Focusing Only on What You Control Changes Everything

You toss and turn one sleepless night wondering if your project proposal will get approved. Maybe you conspired with yourself that you could magically control the CEO’s mood or the exact market winds. Instead, your mind races over hundreds of ‘what-ifs’—traffic snarls, last-minute edits, subway strikes. Sound familiar?
The next morning you arrive at the office drained, scrolling headlines for clues, bargaining with fate. You’re fighting a battle you can’t win. But then, a quiet voice in your head asks simply: “What is under your control?”
You close your eyes, list your options: refine your pitch, clarify key points, schedule a practice run. Tiny things, sure—but solid things. A surprising surge of calm washes over you. Now your elevator pitch flows. You catch a colleague’s eye and nail the revisions.
Later, when you get the green light, the payout feels sweeter not because you controlled every variable, but because you focused on the variables you could.
Science shows that controlling small, immediate tasks lowers your stress hormones and primes your brain for creative problem-solving. In Stoic terms, you’ve applied “prohairesis”—your reasoned choice—to reframe circumstances and free your mind.

You wake up and spend those three minutes listing your “controllables” and “uncontrollables,” then pick three you can act on. You let go of the rest—no, you don’t need to juggle everything. You rehearse each small step in your mind—organizing your day, refining that section, emailing that feedback request—and step into action with calm confidence. Give it a try tonight when you plan tomorrow’s priorities.