When you give up trying to control everything, it can free your mind and take a great weight off of your shoulders, giving you immeasurable gains.  

The feeling of being out of control can lead to a litany of negativity: 

Fear

Stress

Anger

Despair

Hopelessness

True warriors understand the need to take the steps they have to, however painful they may be, in order to let go of the feeling of wanting to orchestrate all aspects of all things, all of the time.  

They are in control of their actions and understand that although they cannot control their surroundings, they can adapt to them.

Coming to grips with and stopping trying to control the behavior of another person allows you to stop setting yourself up to be frustrated.  Remember that you cannot control their behavior, but you can control your reaction TO their behavior.  Aim to be the bigger person; stay in command of yourself.  If not, you’ll likely suffer a great deal of conflict immediately and a great deal of regret later.      

As it relates to Bo Fung Do, being a Master of the art means being a Master of oneself: a person who has achieved a “natural state” of not reacting emotionally, but rather being the levelheaded calm in the center of the chaos.  

To control those things you can control, you must first recognize those things you can’t.  

Although you can’t alter the course of a river while you’re standing knee deep in it, you can dig a channel downhill from it and build your own.  It’s a matter of thinking far enough ahead, looking past the tip of your nose and knowing when you need to be in the river – or out of it.

Phil Messina