Saturday is my day to sleep in.  My daughter wakes me up at 7am, like clockwork. She, like me, has an alarm clock setting in her head that doesn’t let her sleep past 7am. The last time I slept passed 7am I was probably deathly ill or something. 7am is sleeping in for me. 

Erin climbed into bed and snuggled up with me as she does every Saturday morning. She got settled in and then asked me “Daddy, what are you afraid of”?   Things fired off in my brain as I processed the question and tried to format my answer for the audience of a 6 year old. Of course I have fears.  We are all afraid of something.  My brain was thinking of grown up fears, while she was expecting me to say Halloween ghosts, vampires and such. 

I just said “bad guys”.  

I don’t worry about the things that I cannot control. Nor should you.  This world and the things around you are going to happen whether you like it or not.  You can’t focus too much energy on trying to control the tide that is greater than you. It’s a good idea to examine these moments and evaluate your situation, but it’s not the smartest thing to wrangle and corral the things that cannot be harnessed. There is a reason we don’t canoe upstream without a paddle. 

Easier said than done right? We all want to fight the battles that can’t be won.  We all like the challenge and we most desire the things we cannot have or control. 

I am not suggesting that you walk through life as if you have no control of your destiny.  It is foolish to just have a niave attitude about the world and just shout “que cera cera” while being ignorant about the hustle and bustle around you. That’s not smart or healthy and neither is allowing every little uncontrollable thing create stress that raises your blood pressure. 

Troubleshoot the “what ifs” if you can.  Plan ahead.  Control what you can control and do your best no to suck at life.  Be a good person. Be conscious of the unknown and the things you cannot control, but don’t let it be a fear.  “Bad guys” are out there and they aim to harm you and your family, but packing a gun and taking kickboxing classes can only somewhat prepare you for the moment.  These tools are not fool proof, but they represent the preparation for the “bad guys” and that’s all you can do. Prepare. 

Don’t expect bad things to happen to you.  Expect good things. Great things. Wonderful things.  Brace yourself and prepare for the bad things, but don’t let them own you.  Often, there are good things disguised as “bad guys”.  Not always, but sometimes.