Out Of Control - Grasshopper

Have you ever heard–or maybe even used–the phrase, “He’s out of control” or “She’s out of control”?

Usually, it’s not a compliment.

Most of the time, we’re pointing at someone doing something reckless or counterproductive. But there’s an upside to that phrase that we almost never talk about.

Being “out of control” can lead to a surprising discovery: realizing you don’t have any control left.

And buried inside that realization is an even bigger one–you never had any to begin with.

Because control is really just a concept. It’s not a reality.

Think about it. What were you trying to control all those years? You were trying to control reality. And no one who’s ever lived has managed to pull that off. Reality doesn’t bend. It doesn’t negotiate. It just is.

We’ve been indoctrinated into believing we can control just about anything. At best, we might slow things down for a while. But eventually, reality rolls in like a wave and knocks us flat.
There is, however, one exception. One thing we actually do have control over:

Our response.

Most of us have been conditioned to react to reality. Same stimulus, same reaction, every time. It’s right there on the surface, ready to go–and it usually delivers the same result it always has: frustration.

Responding is different.

Responding means you wait a beat or two after reality lands. You pause. You give yourself just a little space to see what else might show up.

And in that small window, your mind often offers up new options–options you couldn’t see when you were busy trying to control the universe.

So maybe t he real life lesson is this: it’s okay to be “out of control.”

Because it’s the response–not the reaction–that opens the door to more possibilities.