Taking Control of You

Finding Control in a World That Feels Out of Control

A few days ago, a client shared something with me that stopped me in my tracks.

She said, “In a shit show of a world right now, the one thing I can control is myself—and that’s what I’m focusing on.”

There was no bitterness in her tone. Just truth. Just resolve.

We often talk about the importance of self-regulation, mindfulness, and grounding in therapy. But every once in a while, a person distills a complex truth into something so raw and real that it hits differently. Her words cut through the chaos, the headlines, the noise—and reminded me of what we all sometimes forget: control starts from within.

The world does feel like a mess at times—politics, climate, injustice, loss, uncertainty. It’s easy to get swept up in the waves of things we cannot fix overnight. But what this client recognized is a form of empowerment: in the face of all that we can’t control, we still have power over how we show up each day.

We can:

• Choose how we respond.

• Choose how we care for ourselves.

• Choose our boundaries.

• Choose what we consume (media, conversations, energy).

• Choose to heal, little by little.

She’s focusing on herself—not in a selfish way, but in the most self-preserving, life-affirming way possible. And that focus is strength.

So if the world feels too heavy right now, remember: it’s okay to pause. It’s okay to pull inward. It’s okay to tend to your own flame.

Because sometimes, that’s how we keep the light going.

May Love and Light Guide you always,

Susan

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Written with permission, anonymized and shared to honor the wisdom of a resilient soul.