Question of the week by The Brotherhood of Men

What's the best way of handling a teenager’s mood swing?

Main topic

We struggle with controlling things. Many times we try to control the stuff we can’t control. This often leads to lots of different types of suffering. We get angry and show frustration with those things that we are not able to control but really wish we could.

What can you control?

There are things in your life that you can actually control. These items can be broken down into three categories. Those categories are your actions, your thoughts, and your emotions.

• Your actions
  • Taking a breath
  • How you hold yourself
  • How you lead
  • The quality of your work
  • Taking responsibility for your part in the scenario
• Your thoughts
  • Your integrity
  • Gratitude
  • What you say to yourself
  • Whether you play the victim or not
• Your emotions
  • Happy
  • Sad
  • Anger
  • Gratitude

What you can’t control?

There are far more things you can’t control that is going on in your life and these can cause so much extra pain and suffering when you try to control them. We worry about how something will react and will not act in that fashion at all. 

• Your environment
• Other people, that includes your kids
• The actions of Other people

Why controlling things beyond your control leads to suffering

• Trying to control stuff creates worry
• Stress 
• anxiety