There are many things we don’t control in life. That’s a sometimes painful fact we all have to accept.
But, as Yogi Berra points out, it’s the things we DO have control over that determine our success or failure…
I think your life depends on your attitude. How you face things says a lot about you and about how people treat you, a lot about what you can do and can’t do, a lot about your happiness or unhappiness.
You are what you think; maybe that’s why some people need attitude adjustments.
Nobody can be smiley all the time, but having a good positive attitude isn’t something to shrug off.
There are lots of things you can’t control, but how you respond to those things is the one thing you can control.
– Yogi Berra, from his book What Time Is It? You Mean Now?
It’s easy to worry about all the things we have no control over—things that went wrong in the past, things that might go wrong in the future, things that are out of our hands. But what do those worries accomplish? Nothing!
Worrying about the things you can’t control only stresses you out, wears you down, and hurts your performance in the present moment. It also tends to make you unpleasant to be around.
Stop worrying about the things you can’t control and start focusing on the things you DO control.
Most importantly, recognize that you have total control over the attitude you choose to embrace. No matter what happened in the past or what might happen in the future, you can decide right now whether you want to have a positive, can-do attitude or a negative, what’s-the-use attitude.
Make sure you choose a positive attitude.
A version of this article appeared in the Sports for the Soul newsletter on May 12, 2016.
