PAGE IN PROGRESS What you see here is a page of my hypertext book POWER of meanings // MEANINGS of power. Initially empty, this page will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. Thank you for your interest and patience!
We want to assert our control the most when we feel out of control. Example, children's terrible two is the time when children realize how much they are not in control.
Feeling that we are not in control is stressful. On the other hand, how much are we really in control? Realistically, we cannot control much. So perhaps the desired state is to understand what we can control (some but not much) vs. what we cannot, and make peace with this realization.
Serenity prayer: "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"
Why do we talk about "control freaks" - negative connotation?
we develop the ability to control our feeling around the age of 3. Do we control feeling or reactions? When our reactions are difficult to control, we try to control our environment
Realistically, we cannot control much in our environment. We can control a tiny bit. It is nice to feel that we can control some something.
we cannot control our circumstances but we can control our reactions, stories that we tell ourselves. The first thing we can control is the realization that we are telling ourselves these stories.
we can control our self-awareness
to be in power means to be in control control your emotions
It is very difficult to determine what is outside of our control and what isn't. (power to see what we can control and what we cannot?) it is unfair to assume that we know what other people can control and what they cannot (e.g., to what extent they can change the way they see things)