Read time: 6 minutes
Wisdom in the Storm: Learning What You Can and Cannot Control
💡 Goal: Understand that disorder is natural. Find creative potential in the unpredictable.
Why It Matters
You will spend so much of your time on this earth trying to create order. Everything in its right place. (Cue Radiohead). Learning to tell the difference between what you can and cannot control is an essential part of the human experience.
The struggle may be best captured in the serenity prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, The courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.”
The Resistor
The real challenge. 🤔
You have to learn this skill for yourself. No one can teach you the difference, if they could there would be no need for the prayer.
Wisdom is earned, not taught. Many people choose not to face this reality.
Accept the journey, face chaos with grace, and use self-reflection to understand what you can change and what you need to accept.
A Signal Path
One Man Moves a Mountain
Sometimes you can accept the chaos and go on to do something that everyone else believes is impossible.
In 1959 in the village of Gehlaur, India, Falguni Devi fell off of a mountain and was badly injured. The nearest doctor was 56 miles away. She died due to the lack of medical care.
Her husband Dashrath Manjhi was devastated.
He became obsessed with preventing others from suffering the same fate and embarked on a seemingly impossible mission. Dashrath began to carve a path through the mountain with only a hammer and chisel.
His goal was to shorten the distance for others.
But Dashrath had to balance his goal against everyday survival needs.
He worked in the fields during the day to provide for his family and every morning and every night he worked on the mountain.
His son would sharpen the chisel in the shop of the local ironsmith and the people in the shop would say to the him, “He is trying to cut a huge tree with a nail-cutter.”
Dashrath he knew what people were saying, years later he recounted:
"When I started hammering the hill, people called me a lunatic but that steeled my resolve.”
He worked on the mountain from 1960 to 1982.
For 22 years he chiseled away at the rock.
Every morning and every night he endured the chaos of the physical and emotional challenges. He faced the constant mockery of the villagers and his own family.
Finally, his hard work and dedication paid off. He completed a 360-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, and 25-foot-deep path through the Gehlaur hills.
The path shortened the distance from 35 miles to just 9 miles and provided better access to medical care, education, and economic opportunities for the people of his village.
Now known as the "Mountain Man", Dashrath Manjhi’s story is a testament to the human will and perseverance.
Three Cats
✅ Idea: Risk being misunderstood
🔺 Process: Change the energy into a more useful form
🔹 Result: Chaos is temporary
Switch to Action
“Don't wish it was easier wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom”
― Jim Rohn
Chaos Journaling
For 10 minutes, record recent moments of chaos or disorder in your life - external disruptions or internal experiences that felt out of control.
For each moment, reflect:
- What opportunities might the chaos have presented if embraced?
- How could you have approached it differently, without resisting?
- What lessons can you learn about finding creative potential in the unpredictable?
Review your entries and notice patterns in how you react to chaos. Identify areas to develop more flexibility and acceptance.
The goal is to reframe disorder as a source of growth and creativity, rather than solely an obstacle. Regular reflection builds awareness and willingness to embrace the uncertainties of life.
Go Deeper
Two of my favorite books on this idea are:
- The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday
- Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Looking for other ways to navigate chaos? Try the Resiliter Creative Cards