In 2017, during my second semester of college, I had joined the S.P.A.C.E Hogs, because I love space and stars and astronomy. My membership in this club granted me an opportunity of a lifetime; I was put on the VIP list for a lecture by Mark and Scott Kelly. Mark and Scott are famous twin astronauts that participated in a study for NASA. For this study, Scott spent a year in space while Mark stayed on Earth. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of space travel on the human body. This experiment provided not only the information they were looking for but also showed the human body can adapt to extended periods of space travel (this is important for trips to Mars in the future), and provided some milestones (fun fact: Scott Kelly was the first person to receive a vaccination in space- it was the flu shot). Since I was on the VIP list, this meant I had the chance to meet them after the lecture! I went to the lecture by myself and sat in the front row (like any good student would... or any good suck up). During the lecture, they cracked jokes and talked about the experiment they participated in. Two main things stuck out to me during this lecture, one was that Mark's wife, Gabby Giffords, was shot in the face and survived. The other was something they said: "Focus on what you can control." This sentence has stuck with me ever since that lecture.
 |
| Scott Kelly (left), Me, and Mark Kelly (Right), 2017 |
Focus on what you can control. Well, what can you control? Could Mark control his wife getting shot? Or the results of the Twin Study Experiment? I invite you to make a list of the things you have control over in your life. Do you have control over strangers? Do you have control over your family? Do you have control over other people's actions? Do other people have control over how YOU feel? Can you control your emotions? Now that you've made your list of the things YOU can control in YOUR life, focus on those things. You can't control everything, I have a hard time reminding myself of this, but you can control yourself, you're reactions, your emotions, etc. I know it can be easy when you're angry, or upset to blame someone else for your problems. Let me show you a different way to think about these problems? We have established, you are in control of yourself. Who is in control of your spouse? They are. Who is in control of your friends? They are. Can these people control you? No. Only you can control you. It is exhausting trying to control other people. All it's doing is taking too much energy out of you (that could be used doing literally anything else) and creating problems that you can't fix.
I asked the class if they had control over who the president was. They responded, no. I then told them they don't need to be mad or angry or upset over something they have zero control over. When we get upset, we often put blinders up and focus solely on the thing that made us emotional in the first place. This never ends well. Instead of putting up blinders, I encourage you to do these three simple things: Stop, Breathe, Pray. Stop what you're doing. Stop thinking those bad thoughts. Stop whatever is making you upset. Stop physically and emotionally (unless you're like driving or something where you can't stop, then just emotionally stop). Just stop. Take a breath. Take a couple. Breathing slows your heart rate. When you are angry or upset, your heart rate skyrockets. This makes your brain enter into a survival mode (AKA: fight or flight mode). When you're in fight or flight mode, you physically CANNOT have a rational conversation. Pray! Pray that God will take your anger, that He will guide you and calm you down. Prayer works for so many different aspects of your life. I encourage you to pray daily.
Focus on what you can control. Focus on YOU!
This week in the creative corner: I have been working on destructive art, primarily in my Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith.
LINKS:
No comments:
Post a Comment