Control Savvy is the name of this blog. I, the author, cannot claim to be Control Savvy. If the blog were just about me, it would be more aptly called “Wannabe Control Savvy” or “Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda-been Control Savvy”.
Control Savvy is about dealing with issues of control in our daily lives in a shrewd and practical way.
I cannot offer you expert help. I do not have a PhD in Control Savviness. I would not presume to teach you how to deal with issues of control in your daily life, because the ultimate decisions belong to you according to your own circumstances.
What can I do then? I am good at asking questions. One of the most savvy things you or I can do in life is to ask questions. Anybody can become good at asking questions. The more questions you ask, the savvier you will be. You will have to decide which questions you to ask. I personally start with…
Who or What is in Control?
or
Who or What is the Controller?
If the answer is, “I am in control” or “I am the Controller”, these are the next questions I ask myself.
IN CONTROL
- Who or what do I control?
- How much control do I have?
- How do I maintain control?
- What is the history of my control?
- Are there specific tactics, techniques, and tools that I use to maintain control over myself and others?
- What are the costs of maintaining control? What are the benefits?
- Who or what might take my control away from me?
- What might be the costs of having my control taken away from me? What might be the benefits?
- What might be the costs of giving away my control? What might be the benefits?
- Am I really in control or do I just think I am in control?
- Should I be in control?
- Who or what controls me?
If I decide that I am not in control, and that, on the contrary, I am the one being controlled, then I try to identify the Controller or Controllers and follow up with more questions.
NOT IN CONTROL
- Who or what is The Controller?
- Who or what else, besides me, does The Controller control?
- How much or to what degree does The Controller control me/us?
- How does The Controller maintain control? What are the specific techniques, tactics, and tools used to maintain control over me/us?
- What is the cost to the Controller of maintaining control? What are the benefits?
- What is the history between The Controller and those who are controlled?
- How can I gain more control and cede less control to the
Controller? - What are the costs and benefits of challenging the Controller?
- What are the costs and benefits of voluntarily ceding control to the Controller?
- Is the Controller really in control or do I just think it is in control?
- Should the Controller be in control?
- Who or what controls The Controller?
As I pointed out in #2 REPETITION = CONTROL, there are many Controllers who are controlling different aspects of our lives, and we happily allow them to do so. In our technological society we depend on automatic control systems to deliver even the most basic necessities of life—food, water, gas, electricity. We ignore these systems until something goes wrong. Then we pay attention and start problem-solving. Often, we don’t have the knowledge, skills, tools, etc. to solve the problem, so we must depend on someone who does: An expert in the field. The expert then becomes the Controller.
Even if we eliminated all technology, there would still be Mother Nature and all her natural systems that remind us constantly that we will never have absolute control over our lives.
However, that doesn’t mean we should stop trying. In fact, if we don’t try to maintain some degree of control, Mother Nature will kill us.
At the beginning of 2020 experts in the fields of medicine, virology, epidemiology, and mathematics notified the general public that a recently evolved virus was out in the world and was capable of killing large numbers of humans. For a while, it was simply known as, The CORONAVIRUS. Then we were educated to use these much more specific names: SARS-CoV-2, or CoVID-19.
As I mentioned in #4 COVID-19 RULES, people began to change their behavior based on the recommendations of health experts, and the mandates of government agencies.
Stay at home.
Don’t go outside.
Wash your hands.
Don’t touch your face.
Wear a mask.
Keep six feet back.
By submitting to these rules we have artificially turned off automatic control systems that have existed since the first humans walked the earth. For example, touching is part of such a system. For now we don’t hug, kiss or shake hands because we fear COVID. However, we have been physically touching each other for millions of years as humans and, before that, as mammals. Which control system do you think will eventually win?
As we saw in #1 WHO OR WHAT IS IN CONTROL? you can impose your will on your respiratory system and hold your breath for a while, but sooner or later the automatic (autonomic) system will snap back into place. By following the COVID RULES humanity has been holding its breath. This might be a good time to compare the Controllers of the “old normal” world to the Controllers of the “new normal” reality we are living today. It’s especially essential to do so because there are Controllers who claim that there will be “no return to the ‘old normal’ until a vaccine is found”.
In future posts I will be asking questions about all the COVID Controllers, including myself. You are very welcome to join me.
Control Savvy 
Leave a comment