What Controls You?

I say my deepest belief is in freedom.

And my biggest fear is loss of control.

But two recent reads have shown a bright spotlight on how wildly inconsistent I can be in the areas of freedom and control.

“Atomic Habits” by James Clear

“Start Finishing” by Charlie Gilkey

Both books dive deep into how our tendencies, mindsets and unconscious habits effective our goals, productivity and creativity. Both books encourage you to document your cues or triggers to bring awareness to these areas so that you can adjust and respond accordingly.

From this examination, I discovered that a lot of things control me. And that which controls you takes your freedom from you.

My two biggest cues that control me are HUNGER and BOREDOM. These two often partner up as some sort of evil duo to torment me with a variety of cravings.

Hunger triggers an array of mindsets and reactions and cravings: “I’m going to die if I don’t get something to eat.” “Why are you hungry? Is something wrong with you.” “You have no discipline.”

Boredom also unleashes cravings and a cacophony of voices: “I hate this. Let’s do something else.” “I’m so tired. Let’s take a nap.” “Ooh, YouTube!” “Please, please do something, do anything interesting.”