What do you think of when you hear the word Control?
Odds are, the connotation is negative.
Maybe you think of power. Or dominance. Or micromanagement. Or manipulation. Or just someone who’s way too uptight.
Perhaps the label Control Freak comes to mind. Or the word Bossy.
In any case, the message is clear. Control can make monsters of men. And it’s hardly anyone’s redeeming quality.
It’s a shame we villainize the concept of control like this. For in a wild world, it can actually be our best ally.
It can protect us (and those around us) from undesirable outcomes. It can take some of the randomness out of life’s journey. And it can provide us with some semblance of direction when it comes to navigating our destiny.
These benefits have encouraged me to embrace the notion of control. To consider myself a Control Enthusiast. (Kudos to National Car Rental for coining that term.)
I see no shame or malice in this behavior. In my view, this is the only way I can truly influence my life’s journey.
Think about life for a moment. All the experiences we encounter are just a series of causes and effects. Of inputs and outputs.
Those outputs — or effects — are the results we get. The situations we find ourselves in. And those inputs are the actions that get us to that point.
When it comes to navigating this cause-effect construct, there are two predominant schools of thought. Some people ignore the cause entirely, and adapt to the effect. Others try and influence the causes, in order to drive the desired effects.
Control enthusiasts tend to lean toward the second strategy.
We obsess on the details of those causes and inputs. We navigate them with pinpoint precision.
We do this not out of a sense of paranoia, but rather out of a sense of logic.
You see, there’s a tendency to blame unsavory outcomes we all encounter on randomness. On bad luck or unforeseen circumstances.
But while misfortune certainly plays a role in the bad outcomes we must reconcile with in our lives, it might not be the leading one. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that we had some say over at least some of the inputs that caused the undesired result.
That is to say, there are some things we likely could have done to reduce the chances of the outcome we ultimately encountered.
For instance, let’s say we return to our parked car after a night out and find the windows shattered and our laptop gone. We could determine in that moment that the fates are lined up against us. But it will likely be more productive to consider what we could have done to prevent the break-in. Maybe we could have parked in a safer and better lit area. Or not left our laptop in the vehicle unattended.
Or let’s say we get sick after spending three hours at a late-season football game. We can blame the crowd for spreading germs. Or we could consider how our choice of attire might have impacted our health.
The implications are clear. In both cases, we could have taken steps to better the outcome.
As they say, The less we leave to chance, the less chance we’ll get bit in the…rear end.
Now, of course, being a control enthusiast won’t solve all problems. There are times when we must cede control to others. There are moments when we must place our trust in them to attain the optimal results. It can be difficult to impossible for control enthusiasts to do this without making a ruckus. And these outbursts tarnish public acceptance of controlled behavior.
Fortunately, technology now provides us with some middle ground. Control enthusiasts can now track their checked luggage from origin to destination, thanks to a feature on most airlines’ smartphone apps. And smart doorbells allow control enthusiasts to monitor their home’s front door from hundreds of miles away.
These advancements don’t wipe away the need for trust. After all, something can easily go wrong when we’re physically separated from our homes or luggage. But they do provide control enthusiasts with peace of mind.
Thanks to these tech solutions, there are fewer unknown variables to control enthusiasts to account for. And they can easily read and react to any issues that do arise, instead of wasting effort trying to figure out what went wrong.
Hopefully, these advancements will help change the stigma around control. Hopefully they will empower others to take command of their lives, to take responsibility for the outcomes they have a hand in.
Because a society of control enthusiasts might not be a bad thing after all. It could create a culture of empathy, compassion and common purpose.
That’s a culture worth pursuing. Let’s make it happen.