I used to think control meant making every plan work. Life keeps reminding me that most of it sits outside my reach. Stoicism, for me, is a simple split of the world into two piles. There are things I cannot control, and things I can.
I cannot control someone’s reactions. I cannot control government policies, the behavior and opinions of people around me, or the geopolitical weather that moves markets and moods. I cannot control algorithms, traffic, or timing. That entire pile is real, but it is not mine.
What is mine is smaller and heavier. My thoughts. My judgments. My actions and my reactions. How I choose my words, how I show up when plans break, how quickly I return to the work in front of me. If I keep my hands on this pile, my day gets quieter. I stop bargaining with the wind and start doing the next right thing.
There is another practice I lean on. The Stoics called it premeditatio malorum, the premeditation of evils. I think of it as deliberate pessimism with a useful goal. I sit with worst-case questions on purpose. What if I do not get a single sale tomorrow. What if a supplier misses a deadline. What if a launch flops. What if a government policy changes overnight?
I let the picture sharpen. I feel the sting before it happens. Then I ask, what would I do next. Most answers are unglamorous. Write to customers with honesty. Cut what can be cut. Fix what can be fixed. Improve the product. Show up again tomorrow. Once I walk through the worst in my head, the fear loses volume. I stop freezing. I start preparing.
This is not about becoming negative. It keeps me grounded. It makes me aware of what I already have. It builds gratitude without slogans. If I can imagine losing something and still choose my response, I hold it more gently and value it more. The exercise does not make me cynical, it makes me sturdy.
So this is my version of Stoicism. Accept the size of my circle. Keep effort inside it. Train for bad weather, then go to work. I will not waste myself on forces that are not mine. I will keep my focus on the only levers I can actually pull, my thoughts, my judgments, my actions, my reactions. If the market is kind, good. If it is not, still do the work.
Control is smaller than I once hoped, and that is fine. Small circles are easier to keep clean 🙂
Kveer, signing out.
