Control: A Mini Essay

Self Control is the Path to Freedom

Control.

Who doesn’t want to have control of their lives?

I’d argue most everyone does want control over their lives but they just aren’t ready for it. I know that sounds strange. It feels strange to write, you’re not ready to have control of your life. Especially when it’s directed towards adults. But if people were ready to have control of their life, wouldn’t they have it?

Perhaps that’s poor wording. Rather than saying people aren’t ready to have control of their lives, I should say that people don’t know how to manage the responsibilities that come with having control.

I believe part of the reason that people lack the ability to control their lives is because they have an inaccurate understanding of what it means to have control. When we think of control, I think our mind naturally turns outwards.

We want to have control of a situation, of a person or group of people, of some type of material possession, or some type of other living organism. But that’s not control. That’s insanity. That’s tyrannical.

Control, like all other worthwhile pursuits and virtues, starts with the self. If you’re unable to control your self, you simply don’t have control of your life. The reason being is because having control of oneself is the only control available to us.

Even the control we are permitted to have of ourselves is limited to our mind and actions. We do not control the function of our body. We do not control the emotions we feel or the thoughts that bounce around in our head. We only control what thoughts we latch onto, how we handle our emotions, and what we decide to take action on. Everything else is simply outside our domain.

So, if you want control of your life, learn to control yourself.