Being chill
Posted on in Philosophy of life
Being a chill dude is the exact opposite of being The Dude.
One guiding principle to be a chill person is pretty clear to most people: Let go of what you can't control.
But, to me, another principle is more important, which also gets overlooked: Don't ignore what you can control. Get it done.
The anxiety, the stress and the guilt that piles up from ignoring the latter is more formidable and insidious than not being able to practise the former.
Not doing anything about which you can do something can make you more anxious than not being able to do something about which you can't do anything.
Update on: I thin k that the virtues of patience and perseverance fit somewhere within the get-it-done component. Patience probably also fits in the let-it-go component.
Personal experience
Procrastinators among the readers of this post, which is me, must have felt hard about the second principle.
My wife is an avid 'get-it-done' person, but frets about stuff out of her control, or which lie in the past or the future.
On the other hand, I am an avid 'will-get-it-done' person, but don't give a shit about what I can't control.
Truly, a pair made in heaven!
When I ensure that I get done what I can control, then that sense of accomplishment also helps me put myself at ease about what I can't control.
In closing
Being chill is a lot of work! There are days I just prefer to scream and flail around.