What problems are in your control to fix?

Sometimes—but not all the time—I can fix things in my immediate grasp. Sometimes, those things require the cooperation of others, so they are not really in my grasp. Those things are in our grasps combined.

The list of things I cannot control is almost infinite. I can’t control the weather, the traffic, politics, etc. The list of things I can control (things in my grasp) is so very small that I almost don’t worry about it. I try not to worry about the things I can’t control either.

I can control my actions. I can also control my reaction to different things that happen to me daily!!!

I have stage 4 kidney disease as I may have mentioned on here before. I can definitely try to exercise more and eat kidney healthy items so that part is somewhat in my control as far as keeping me from getting to the point where I have to go on dialysis.

But the part I can’t control is that I know eventually I will have to go on dialysis as my kidneys feel more and then at that point, we’ll have to see how things go. Some people in dialysis live as little as two more years, but some live as long as 20 years. I’ve made my peace with that, but I have no control over that part.

Things within my control:

My attitude
How I treat other people
Bodyweight
Physical fitness, staying storng and conditioned
Eat healthfully
Personal hygiene
Respect for physical property—keeping it clean, maintained, and free of clutter
Choosing whether to forgive or to carry grudges and resentment

Things beyond my control:

Other people’s thoughts, beliefs, words, and behavior
Traffic
Weather
Aging and the passage of time
Most illnesses
Accidents (that’s why they’re called “accidents”)
Global events (I can and do vote, but I can’t dictate the outcome)
Physical needs—sleep, food, water
The past

Those of us who regularly say The Serenity Prayer are similar to @Love_my_doggie – I can only change myself and my interactions with the World’; I cannot change how the world is or how it interacts with me other than accepting te world as it is.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference,

The strength to change the things you can, the serenity to accept the things you can’t and the wisdom to know the difference…