Life is not easy, but you make it as difficult for yourself as you want. Are you letting yourself go in the details or do you keep an open mind and look at big picture?
It’s easy to say to only focus on the important things. But what are you going to do when something happens that you can control? What if the bus driver arrives late when you are taking the boss for a job interview? What do you do if you are hit with a traffic jam on your way to your work? It’s not your attitude with the large activities that is important rather how you react on small details that don’t go your way. How you react on small inconveniences will also determine how larger challenges will influence you.
You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. – Brian Tracy
Teaching you on how to focus on things that you can control are the ways of the Stoics. There are things that we can’t control but often times we chose on how we react to things we can’t control. An example is if you grew up with parents who might not have had all the money of the world. As a child you might have focussed a lot on what you didn’t have rather on what you had. Some people have plenty of money but less contact with their family and some have it the other way around. Look at what you have and be gratifull for it.
Instead of focussing on what you don’t have think about what you can do to improve your life. Only pay attention to what you can control rather then focussing on the things you can’t control. For example if you are working for a boss and they keep on putting you down for no reason you shouldn’t focus on their negative opinion rather look at improving yourself. You can’t control how others look at you but you can improve your skills to improve your life. One day you will work for an employer who knows how to appreciate what you have done.