Welcome to the Tweet Trends podcast. Hey, Evette, what's trending today? Hey, I'm Evette, hey girl. And you are tuned in to Tweet Trends.
It's the quickest way to find out what's trending today. Hello and welcome back. Today is I am in control day. Let's get started.
Yes, today is I am in control day, but no, it is not a salute to Janet Jackson. Actually, on this day back in 1981, oh my gosh, just saying that sounds like a forever ago. And it's crazy because I remember that. Somebody might wanna do some research on that.
Can infants remember that far back? Oh my gosh. But 40 years ago, there was an attempt on the president's life. A man by the name of John Hinkley attempted to assassinate President Reagan.
And where this whole I mean control thing comes in though, is that at the time then Secretary of State Alexander Higg used the phrase, I am in control while addressing and answering questions in a press briefing. Now mind you, he caught all kinds of heck for that because people took it all kinds of ways. When in actuality, he was just saying that amidst all of the chaos, he was simply saying that I'm taking responsibility until the president can get back in place. Simple, point blank, nothing to see here people, keep it moving.
So this whole idea though, of being in control is monumental. It's a very big deal because there are so many people out here nowadays that seem to be out of control, whether it's with substance abuse or their behaviors, their actions, the things that they do, the things that they say. I mean, how many celebrities have been canceled because of something that they've said when they've had a moment of being out of control and then they come back and they apologize and it's like, oh my gosh, my listen to what I said, oh, I sounded like a crazy person. Well, basically what you're saying is that you were out of control at that point in time and you could not get your thoughts together before you let them come out of your mouth and we've got a lot of that going on today.
So let's talk about what it means to be in control, how you can get in control and what some of the consequences are if you cannot seem to control yourself. Let's start with the not so favorable side of control or lack thereof and work our way to how we can get better. Let me start by saying personally, I had had issues with control, but it was more of a, I feel like I gotta be in control or else type deal. Let me give you an example.
When I was teaching school, I struggled with turning in my room key at the end of the year. Every year we'd have a checkout process where you have to go through the books that you were given at the beginning of the year and all this other stuff, take down bulletin boards, all that. And at the end, you got to hand your room keys over to the principal or assistant principal and be about your summer. I struggled with that.
If I was going to have the same classroom the following year, I didn't feel the need to hand my keys over to someone else. So whereas my inability to control my controlling desires over that key really only affected the janitors, the custodians, the people that would come in clean and strip the floors, that type of deal. You know, yeah, okay, that you can hold onto your key, but just know next school year your floors are gonna be dingy because nobody's gonna have gone in there and wax them or mop them or done anything to them. So you decide, okay, you can have that key.
But now there are some other situations where it's a little bit more serious, kind of like the situation in Georgia not too long ago where this guy goes and kills a bunch of people and then comes back claiming a sex addiction. Well, that's basically saying that you had no control over yourself. This addiction has some control over you and somehow that sex addiction made you go kill people? That's not a good look, bro.
That's not a good look. Kind of along the same lines with John Hinckley when he attempted to assassinate the president, he had this thing to where he was obsessed with just stuff that basically, bottom line said that he was not in control. Now his inability to be in control put him in an institution, which rightfully so, something should happen to him. Do you really want that for yourself?
Do you want someone to have to put you in a place where you have no control over anything because something was controlling you so terribly bad? I don't know about that. Now we also have people with controlling behaviors and control issues where they feel like they have to control other people. They have to tell them where to be and what to do and how to dress and all that good stuff.
And there are some parents out there, hey, parents, are you listening? Some of y'all have control issues and you just don't realize it yet. Is everything so serious when your little toddler wants to wear that too, too, in the rain boots? Do you really have to go off the deep end, hollering at them?
Let them wear what they want to wear. Who is it gonna hurt? Do you have to be in control of everything? Come on now, let's think about that.
So basically, bottom line is the fact that we all have free will, we have that capability to make choices and then we get to a point where those poor choices and that poor decision-making that we have turns into something that gets out of control. That's when we need to start making some changes. Now, because I'm a math teacher, I can't help you but so much when it comes to getting yourself under control, getting your life in control and all that good stuff, because that's just not in my wheelhouse, however, for those basic things, those little things that just on a day to day that you can do to become better at controlling yourself, your situation and your surroundings, the things that you can control, I got you for that, I got you. So bottom line is you gotta get your life in order.
In order to do that, you have to take control. You cannot allow other people to control it for you. Don't think that by you not making the decision or coming up with a solution on your own that somebody else is gonna make that decision for you and then you can then blame them if it doesn't go right. It doesn't work like that.
You are in control of you and even if you do let somebody else make the decision for you, it all still falls back on you. So why not take control of your own situation? Now, a basic thing that you can do is to start by keeping a planner. If you have trouble getting places on time or remembering that you have engagements that you need to take care of, then keep a planner.
Keep it and add to it when you make phone calls to various places, to people, when you reach out to the electric company and things like that. Write down who you talk to, what time it was, what the situation was. Keep it all in one place because if you keep it in one place, it's better to control it. Somebody calls you back and questions you about it, you know you go to that one place and you don't feel like you're pulled in a million different directions.
You feel like you're in control because right there at your fingertips, you have everything that's going on everywhere that you've been, every phone call that you've made and that can help you to pull things together. Now does everyone have to do this? No, because everybody doesn't struggle with this. But if you find that you struggle in any of those areas, then try keeping a planner.
You also will want to try to declutter. Now this is one that I struggle with because I have some type of connection to paper. Me and paper, we go way back. I love paper.
And, but this is something that I'm having to work on. To declutter, when your life seems less chaotic, when there's less stuff around you, less things, to capture your attention, then you feel like you're in control of more. You feel better about your situation. If you can look at things and be like, oh, look.
But if everything is a pile, it can get a little overwhelming, which can then make you feel like you're spiraling out of control. The last thing I'm going to say is that you should probably learn organizational skills and then you have to practice them. Because if you get rid of the piles and declutter, you're going to need to stay organized. And that's pretty much where my issue comes in.
I've managed to declutter, but then the clutter always comes back because I practice staying organized for a little bit, and then something happens and then it gets all discombobulated and I'm back at square one. But I continue to work at it because my goal is to be in control of my surroundings. I don't want my surroundings controlling me. Get it?
Does that make sense? So those are a few little things that you can do to get the basic things in your life under control. And once you can handle those things, you can conquer the world, baby. That was today's episode of Tweet Trends.
And I hope that it has inspired you to stop playing around and take control of your life. You know, stop letting those little things control you. And you know what? Join me in my quest because I may not be 100% there, but I'm making progress.
I'm working towards it. And the fact that I'm making progress, that means I am doing it. Okay? It's happening slowly but surely, but still is happening.
So join me not only in this quest, but join me on social media at hay. That's at H-E-V-E-E-T-E or just look for the hashtag tweet trends. Do me a favor, telephone, telephone, and meet me back here again on Thursday. Okay?
See you then.