What Is Controlling Your Life?

“What consumes your mind controls your life.” -Unknown

This is so very true. When I think back to September 11, 2001, I am reminded that once I heard the news of the planes crashing, I could not tear myself away from the TV. I stayed up for hours watching the same footage and hearing the same reports again and again and again. What was I hoping to accomplish by sitting there? There was nothing I could do about the situation. I was in college (a freshman at age 22) in Georgia. Going to New York to help in the recovery efforts was out of the question even if I knew what to do. The Internet was not what it is now, so researching would have been more difficult. I can only imagine how consumed I would have been had there been Facebook or YouTube at the time.

The school had canceled classes at least for the rest of that day, but I’m pretty sure I skipped my classes the next day too so that I could keep up to date on everything that was out of my control and had very little impact on my life at the time. (That is until I decided to join the Marine Corps the following summer.)

But the point is, I was consumed. I wanted more and more information and the more I sat in front of the TV waiting for it, the more it all sounded the same. But the desire to find out more, to hear the next breaking bit of information controlled my life.

Recalling how I finally broke free eludes me. Maybe the news networks stopped the continuous coverage or maybe I just got tired of it, but I wish I had realized at the time what was going on. I had the choice to continue or stop watching, but I felt drawn in. Eventually (years later) I learned that I needed to protect myself from overconsumption, especially news. I learned that I need to take in necessary information and take action where I can. More importantly, I need to avoid unnecessary information and the things that I cannot take action on.

If I find that something negative is filling my mind, I turn to gratitude. This can be as simple as pausing and saying, “God, thank you for all you have done for me. Thank you for your protection and guidance.” Or I go deeper and I grab a pen and notebook or journal and write out something about gratitude or something to get my mind back in my control and in a positive state.

The simple act of writing things down gives me clarity on a situation and helps battle overwhelm. As Anne Frank wrote, “I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”

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