Control the Controllables, but also, Let Go

When it comes to planning, performance, or anxiety, you may have heard the phrase "you need to control the controllables." It's a common adage in Sports Psychology.

You can control your effort, your attitude, and your actions. A lot of times, we think we can control our outcomes. Sometimes by trying to control our expectations, we are also death gripping on an outcome that may not be a reasonable goal.

Here are some examples of controlling the controllables.

In a sports event, you can control:

• your best preparation
• your perspective and attitude
• your warm-up
• your effort
• double-checking you packed everything you need

You can't control:

• how strong the competition is
• the weather
• bad luck with equipment or course markings
• trail conditions
• other people's expectations of you
• sickness

The same goes for anything else - a work presentation, a proposal you're negotiating, and even relationships. We spend a lot of energy focusing on things out of our control because we want to control the outcome. There's some freedom in letting go of the outcome by focusing on what's within your grasp. If you have anxiety around your next big challenge, maybe make a list of what you can and cannot control. Notice if anxiety is coming from the latter part of the list. What can you do to accept the things you cannot control or change?

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