Outcomes are beyond our control
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit us very hard. A lot of people have lost their lives and a lot of people are beginning to lose their minds. The preventive measures started with masks, social distancing, staying at home etc. But we now have the vaccines. The vaccines available today have a very good rate of preventing you from landing in a hospital. But there are still few people who end up in the hospital even after getting both the vaccines. The newer variants of the virus that are going to keep coming out are not going to help either.
This brings me to the idea that outcomes are always beyond our control, but what we can control is how we respond. What are our chances of something good or bad happening to us? That is the unknown. Chance is just chance: it is neither good, bad or personal. The most we can do is learn to control what we can- our thinking, our decision process, our reactions. If we cannot do it ourselves, we cannot control it. We control what we do, how we react to its outcome, but that outcome itself- that, we don't control.
Have come to realise the importance of this even at work. Stress at work and errors causes us to sweat and lose a bit of sleep. We get so worried about project X, we start thinking of the various things that could go wrong. Only taking a step back, we understand that mistakes are made by every human. If a mistake is made, we may not have control over the outcome. What we can do is learn from it, take corrective measures and respond to the problem in a better way when faced with a similar situation in the future.
If any of you follow Ryan Holiday, you must have already heard about Stoicism. If not, stoicism is a school of philosophy that hails from ancient Greece and Rome in the early parts of the 3rd century, BC. It is a philosophy of life that maximises positive emotions, reduces negative emotions and helps individuals to hone their virtues of character. They TOO preached on focusing on the right action and not on the outcome. In the 3rd century, BC! The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t. What we have influence over and what we do not
Because what you can control, as always, is how you respond and nothing beyond.
This brings me back to Covid-19. What matters is not what other people are doing or have done, but what you do. That means: Keeping up to date with the latest advice from the World Health Organization (and then actually following it!). Washing your hands often, covering your nose when you sneezing/coughing, avoiding large public gatherings, cancelling unnecessary travel. AND TAKING THE VACCINE. Don’t be stupid. Don’t think you’re the exception. Don’t do things that benefit you, at the expense of others. If you feel sick, stay at home. Do your part.
We might still get Covid and end up in the hospital despite taking all the necessary precautions. The outcome is beyond our control. But doing the above will reduce the chances of something adverse happening to you. We can control taking the precautions and precautions we must take.