The Power of What If: Breaking Free from the Control Trap

Like water squeezed in a tight fist, the harder one tries to control something, the more it seems to slip away. This paradox plays out daily in countless ways — from trading rooms to family dining tables, from corporate boardrooms to spiritual sanctuaries.

Consider the scene in a therapist’s office: A mother describes her elaborate systems for protecting her child. Each morning begins with checking vital signs. Each surface is sanitized with ritualistic precision. Each meal is weighed, measured, and scrutinized. Her love manifests as an intricate web of control, spun from threads of fear and “what if.”

This story resonates because it reflects a universal human drive to master the uncontrollable. The trader convinced they can crack the market’s code, the parent micromanaging their child’s path to success, the spiritual seeker turning faith into a transaction with the divine — all caught in the same maze, believing that through enough effort, insight, or love, human power might extend beyond its natural limits.

The Hidden Epidemic

Modern society grapples with unprecedented anxiety, yet rarely examines its connection to our collective addiction to control. Look around: institutions dedicated to the illusion of certainty proliferate. Education systems promise…