Control What You Can Control

Control what you can control

We’ve all seen and heard the “no-call heard ‘round the world!” I’m referring to the Saints/Rams game. Saints fans weren’t happy. Sports fans weren’t happy. Even Rams fans were surprised by the no-call. But leave it to a college basketball coach to set the proper perspective.

Will Wade, Head coach of LSU basketball, stepped up and shared with the media that in a team meeting he told his team that the Saints lost the game long before that call. They lost it when they had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown. I’ll take it another level and say that they lost it with penalties that cost them. With poor decisions that led to open receivers. The list could go on. Coach Wade said that every little thing you do means something to the bigger picture. Every decision that seems small could mean something huge. Just ask the KC Chiefs. That’s true in sports. That’s true in life.

We, as a society, give less value to the small decisions that we CAN control and more value to the actions of others that we CAN’T control.

I’m as guilty as anyone of this. I’ll never forget having a conversation with a good buddy of mine who now officiates in the NBA. I was very down on myself. Very down on my chances to get hired to officiate in a certain league. I’m venting to him and he’s just listening. I was not in my 20’s and very overweight and knew that played a role. Then he said it. “Control what you can, your weight, and don’t worry about what you can’t control, your age.” As simple as that sounds, I needed to hear that from someone else. It had to hit my ears before I would let it hit my mind. I listened, controlled my weight and got hired. I still work in that league to this day.

As a Saints fan, I vented about the call. As a referee, I had to be reminded that we all miss calls. Even big ones. In fact, I was watching film on one of my games just a few days after the big game and saw a play where I should’ve called a foul. Instead, my partner picked it up. It was bad. And fairly obvious. But the fact remains, if that team had lost, it wouldn’t have been because of that call. The coach would look back at all the missed free throws and how many turnovers they had. The small things that led to the big thing, the loss.

As you go about your day, think about all the things that upset you; the things that cause your whole day to be off. Now look at how much of it you have control over. If you have no control over something, stop worrying about it…TODAY! Traffic. You’re stuck. You can’t do anything about it. Find a way to enjoy it. Notice all the people around you while in traffic. Check out the cool cars. Turn the music up. But freaking out about the traffic…brace yourself… won’t change the traffic. The decisions of a boss/parent/teacher/referee. You can yell and get angry, but it’s still not changing the decision. So find a way to stop giving one extra thought to something you can’t control. And get to a place where you master what you can control.

From a Christian perspective, I’ve heard it said many times that worrying is the tangible evidence that you don’t trust God. Obviously, that’s true. It’s just easier said than done. We are conditioned to think a certain way. And that, my friend, is exactly why Paul said be transformed by the renewing of your IG status…no, gym membership…no, your MIND. Transform your mind. But sometimes, it has to hit your ears before it reaches your mind. So find someone you trust that can help you change the way you think about something…particularly something you have no control over. It’s then that you will begin to discover peace in situations that used to rob you of peace.

Stay Classy, GP!

Grainger