Life is filled with things you can’t control, so stop worrying about them!
As human beings we worry a lot, sometimes about things we can’t control. That’s why we decided to go through a list of things that are beyond your grasp, which you have no direct strings to pull in order to alter the outcome.
Here at Alux we’re big advocates of writing your own destiny, taking life into your own hands and making the most with the little resources you have at your disposal.
So why dedicate an entire article to a list of things that are so opposite of what is our bread and butter?
We did this because the moment you realize you can no control these things, you are free to stop worrying or beating yourself down for them. This is the hand you’ve been dealt, it’s time to be honest with yourself and focus on the things that you can change.
While going through this list, we aim to make you realize that despite the fact that many aspects of your life are beyond your control, you can still craft your own path and make the most out of each situation.
As always we have a video version for this article which you can watch here:
With that said, here are 15 Things You Can’t control in life:
Number 1: Where you were born
Depending on where you were reside, your standards of living and access to education, health and opportunities drastically differ.
You cannot control where you were born, so it is important to make the most out of the hand that you’ve been dealt. If you feel like this place isn’t enough, you can work hard and move to a better more advantageous location.
Although you can not choose where you were born, you are free to choose where you want to live.
Number 2: When you were born
This is another big one, because the period in which you were born comes with its own specific variables. You might be born in times of war or in times of prosperity.
You might be born in the 1950s and have to fight polio, or you might be born in 2015 and fight the same disease that’s coming back because people think vaccines cause autism.
Personally, we love this period of time where we live in right now. We were born with so many advantages and so far it is probably the best time to be alive. Medicinal breakthroughs happen every few months, life expectancy is at an all time high, the internet is just starting to mature and opened so many opportunities finally creating an international fairly-free marketplace.
You’ve been really blessed to be alive in this period of time, we really have it easy!
Number 3: Who your parents are
The first few years of your upbringing are incredibly important, because they set the core values someone keeps with them for the rest of their lives.
This one is tricky, because you don’t choose your parents.
What you need to understand is that despite differences in approach, almost all parents love their children and want them to be happy. This is biologically true.
Just think of yourself, what are the chances that you would intentionally do something so that your child ends up unhappy and a failure?! You would need to be a pshychopath.
The sad part is, most parents sabotage their children unwillingly, by not allowing them to grow. They don’t do this because they hate you, but because they don’t know any better.
Number 4: Talent
Some people are just born with a predisposition for certain things. Good for them! That’s their advantage in life.
If you were born with a particular talent, it is up to you to find ways to maximize the impact you can have with said talent. Although you can not control if you were born with a good voice or not, you can definitely control how much time you put into perfecting the craft.
Please remember:
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough!
Number 5: Luck
Luck in its purest form means you getting a better hand when it comes to the things you can’t control. For example, you get lucky if you’re born in a developed country, during the early stages of the internet, with parents who are not actively trying to bring you down.
Basically, luck is when any of the items mentioned on this list work in your favor despite you not being able to affect them in any way.
This is not to be confused with “creating your own luck” which means taking the necessary actions to position yourself so that you can take full advantages of strategic opportunities.
That’s not luck, that’s just being smart about life. While true luck is out of your control, the other type is something you create.
You know what they say: The harder I work, the luckier I get!
This is one of the many differences between those who succeed in life and those you fail. We strongly recommend you watch our video on 15 Things Rich People Do that the Poor Don’t:
Number 6: Change
It doesn’t matter if you like it or not, change is happening. New ideas overtake old ideas as the world keeps moving forward.
The last thing you want to do is cling to old concepts just because they suited you better when you were coming up or you’re just simply too scared to embrace change.
The greatest example of this century lies in the human rights issues. Most developed countries have figured out how to embrace it, while countries stuck in the past still look at gay people as sinners. It’s your call if you want to live in the future, or you are just too scared to break down the walls of old ideas. Same goes for self driving electric cars, women’s rights, discrimination based on the color of your skin and more.
The world is moving to an efficient future where it matters less how you were born and instead we want to know how much value you can really put out there.
Number 7: Several diseases
There are still diseases we can not cure or completely prevent, but we’re working on them as a species. At this point it’s just an issue of throwing enough money and time at the problem until we rid ourselves of them.
Today you’re less likely to die from traditional illnesses and istead on the top of the charts you have diseases like Alzheimer, Schizophrenia, Cancer & Diabetes.
We’re so fascinated by Bill Gates’ efforts in this direction, who’s pouring most of his wealth and time into this. Apart from his existing efforts he’s positive we will be able to cure 4 more diseases in the next 15 years. We need more people like Bill.
Number 8: the way most people look at life
This is another tricky one, because public perception is skewed by so many factors that it becomes hard to control.
Not everybody looks at life the same way as you do, especially you, Aluxers. People have different priorities, different agendas, live in different environments and you won’t be able to see eye-to-eye with a large portion of the population.
What you can control is your own view of the world, what you think your life should look like and maybe bringing a positive change on the way others perceive it as well.
Number 9: If someone genuinely loves you or not
Many of you will probably learn this the hard way when you’re young. You can not control true love and that’s actually a positive, because if you were able to control it, it would no longer be true.
Find yourself someone who cares so much for you that they would take on the world with you.
Especially in this day and age, you need to be a lot more careful; because love has been simplified and it’s not the right type. The love we see all around is more “picture-perfect-love” instead of being the real thing. Love has become a stepping stone and for some even a way to financial stability, so make sure you’re not being used.
Number 10: Time
In the last couple of years we realized that time has a way of accelerating as you get older which to be honest is kinda freaky. Time is beyond our control, but that just makes the playing field equal for everybody.
We all get the same 24h in a day and roughly the same amount of time to have the biggest impact. But because we all get it equally, most people neglect its value until it’s too late.
People waste time because they simply have too much of it and are not sure what to do with it, that’s how you end up binge-watching a tv-show which you aren’t even enjoying.
With wasting time, you are only building up regret and it all comes full circle when you’re in the last part of your existence. When people look back at how much time they wasted, how many things they wish they did, it’s sad to see people fall into mediocrity.
One of the best videos on our channel has to do with 15 Lessons People Learn too late in life.. This video alone can give you a different appreciation for time and can provide you with some clarity.
Number 11: Your data
At this point, we’re just feeding this beast we have created called the internet. No matter how many cookies you decline, how many ad blockers you use, if you want to participate in this new marketplace of information, ideas and content, you have to pay a price and that comes in the form of your data.
Facebook, twitter, instagram, google, these companies have made it their mission to understand who you are and how are you behaving.
Based on this data, humanity is evolving into something beyond human. The world is racing towards building its first strong A.I. and this is a type of progress we won’t be able to stop. You might want to be prepared for this when it happens.
If you want to do so, we strongly recommend you pick up the following books: Life 3.0, Homo Deus and Superintelligence. You can get one of these for free as an audiobook if you go to alux.com/freebook and sign up!
Number 12: The economy
The way the economy works includes so many variables that you as a simple individual can not control it and you should be aware of this. We’ve seen so many people getting wiped out in the 2008 crash, because the simply through the economy is just gonna keep going up.
The fact that the economy as a whole is beyond your control should be something you worry about constantly. The only way to escape it, is by being smart about the way you position yourself, about how many streams of income you have and how diversified your livelihood is.
The last thing you want to do is be completely reliant on something you can’t predict or manage yourself.
Number 13: The government
At this point, the government seems to be doing its own thing. There are very few countries around the world where the population is pleased with how the country is governed. The last thing we want to do on this channel is get political.
What we want you to take away from this is, don’t rely on the government to solve your problems or take care of you. The entire climate has always been unreliable, so your life is in your own house.
Don’t expect the government to give you a job, to increase your minimum pay or take care of you when you when you’re older. It’s a lot less stressful to take care of these by yourself.
Number 14: Your past
If it happened, it’s already beyond your control. How many of you wish you had the power to go back in time just for a couple of minutes and fix a mistake you’ve made?!
Well, you can’t and you should stop living in the past. Accept it as it is and be a lot more strategic with the future, because the few days you have ahead of you at one point will become your past.
People get so caught up in their pasts that they do not realize they’re wasting up their present and future.
Number 15: Death
The last thing you can’t control in life is your death. We’re all scared of dying to some degree.
People are so scared of dying, that they forget to live!
The best thing you can do is embrace it!
How much life can you fit in a lifetime?
The goal of this article was to make you understand that there are things beyond your control and you should never waste time on worrying about things you have no power over. Instead focus on those you can control. Last Sunday we made a video about that and it’s incredible how much of your life is in your own hands.
We’re really interested to know Aluxers, which of these 15 do you worry about the most? We always read the comments and engage with those we find the most interesting, so let us know what you think!
