Hey all! Without getting too philosophical, I guess we can all agree on the simple fact that being alive involves constant change. It doesn’t matter if we look for it or not, it is unavoidable.

Most of the time these changes tend to be very small, but with time, they accumulate and incrementally turn into something big. When this happens sometimes we don’t even realize how we transitioned from A to B. However, there are times were life hits us with 180º changes we were not expecting, and we need to adapt quickly to keep playing the game.

These changes could be positive or not, but either way every change will involve thinking, adaptation, patience, discussion, and more. But that’s not it! Now imagine if we add some third party that is involved in what will happen plus we have no control over that. That’s when people might say that their life feels like a roller coaster, something I can now relate to.

For somebody like me who is always planning, trying to be ahead and in control of what’s happening, this has been something like a nightmare. But more important than that, it’s been an opportunity to exercise patience and auto control.

Through this process, I came across Stoicism, which is something I heard about in the past but never read too much about until now, and I was surprised about how much it applied to what I was living…

The basic principle of Stoics is that we can’t control what happens around us, but we can control what we think about that and how we handle it. Getting desperate, obsessed, or anxious (or maybe all at the same time) about what happens will probably take us to places we don’t want to be in.

Part of this philosophy is to embrace things how they are when they come. Understand our reach and capabilities, and adapt to them. Everything else is just an imaginary problem that won’t lead us anywhere.

If there’s something I’m learning through this transition that mostly depends on a third party, is that there are no dates, promises, or words that are worth more than facts, and those are the ones you should follow. Everything else is just fuss t

hat will only contribute to more uncertainty and anxiety, so we shouldn’t take it too seriously. Been there, done that, not doing it again (I hope).

Intentions will probably always be the best, but as we don’t have control over everything, the same will happen to the third parties involved, so no one is to blame, it’s just how things are.

We should never forget that while we are going through any transition or change, our life doesn’t stop. Great or worst things could be ahead, but for now, you need to focus on what you have control of. Put the attention back on yourself, on your projects, your health, on the things that make you feel good and appreciate life. Everything else will eventually come, most likely when you don’t expect it too much.

“the more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.” — Epictetus

As a friend would say, infinite patience.

Cheers!