Source: http://zenhabits.net/controller/
By Leo Babauta
Almost our entire lives are spent in a quest to gain control, security and comfort in our lives. Unfortunately, we never really get it, so we keep trying, relentlessly.
This is the main activity of our lives.
What would happen if we stopped?
We could be less restricted by fear, less anxious, less driven by the need for comfort … and more in love with life as it is.
You might be surprised by how much we strive for control.
The Ways We Try to Get Control
The basic nature of live is that it is everchanging, uncontrollable. When we think we have stability in life, something comes up to remind us that no, we don’t. There is no stability, no matter how much we’d like it.
And this kinda freaks us out. We don’t like this feeling of instability, of loss of control. So we do things to cope, out of love for ourselves. These are strategies for control, security and comfort.
Some examples among many:
We go on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, because doing so is comfortable and feels like we know what we’re doing (a feeling of certainty, of things under control).
We make a to-do list or even try out an entire productivity or organizational system, because it feels like we’re getting things under control.
We clean, or declutter, or organize our desks.
We tackle email, because it’s out of control, and getting it under control sounds much less anxiety-inducing.
We …