You Can't Control the World, But You Can Control Your Response

The weight of uncertainty bears down on us all. Economic instability, political tensions, wars, and technological disruptions like AI reshape our world daily, leaving many feeling adrift and anxious. But amid this tumult lies a profound truth: while global events spiral beyond our control, our response to them remains firmly in our hands.

This episode explores practical strategies for staying grounded when everything feels overwhelming. Rather than drowning in the "what ifs" that fuel our fears, we can redirect our energy toward the elements we genuinely control - our daily routines, physical wellbeing, and meaningful connections. These seemingly small anchors provide surprising stability when the world seems chaotic.

The modern information landscape presents its own challenges. Constant news consumption and exposure to agenda-driven content disconnects us from reality, keeping us trapped in cycles of manufactured outrage. By setting intentional boundaries around media consumption and carefully selecting our information sources, we protect our mental space and remain anchored in what's truly important.

History offers powerful perspective during uncertain times. From the Great Depression to 9/11 to the 2008 financial crisis, humanity has weathered countless periods that felt apocalyptic to those living through them. Yet we've consistently found ways to adapt, innovate, and move forward. This historical resilience doesn't minimize current challenges but reminds us of our remarkable capacity to overcome them.

Uncertainty isn't new—it's just louder right now. By focusing on what we can control, cultivating our inner strength, and maintaining genuine human connections, we discover we're more capable than our fears suggest. You don't need all the answers. You just need to keep showing up for yourself and those around you, one day at a time.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey all and welcome to this week's episode of the
Mike Muldoon Podcast.
Thanks for tuning in, thanksfor being with me, hope you're
doing well, hope everything'sgoing well.
It's the Easter holiday here,so got the kids home.
They got two weeks off and wedidn't do anything because we
have a lot of things going on inthe Muldoon family you know I
talk about on my podcast often,how you know, I don't come to

(00:21):
you from a point of like, hey,everything's great in my life,
I've done it all.
And let me tell you how to getthere.
I didn't start that podcast.
I started this podcast on ajourney, um, and if you go back
and you listen, you'll hear thatI continually moved
transatlantic, moved jobs, uh,from a startup to other things
and so on and so forth, movingthrough, and my wife and I are
now about to start a whole newventure.

(00:41):
And on top of this whole newventure that I'll talk to you
I'll probably talk to you aboutit next week on we just decided
to randomly throw in a move aswell, right in between it.
All Same area, same thing, justwe needed a little bit more
space.
So but anyway, we're going totalk more about that next week.
But, man, the world is crazyright now and I just, I can just
see people.
I could see it in their faces,I could see it in their eyes.

(01:01):
They're just filled with aworld of uncertainty in their
own private universe.
And I want to talk today abouthow we stay grounded in a world
of uncertainty, especially whentimes feel so heavy right now
Economic uncertainty, politicaltensions, war tariffs, ai,
reshaping industries I mean itcan feel like too much for some,

(01:24):
it can feel overbearing.
I mean, everywhere we turn,there's another reason to worry.
So I want to talk about how wedeal with this today.
How do we stay grounded whenthe world feels like it's
spinning faster and faster outof our control?
I get it Every day.

(02:10):
You get up, you probably turn onthe news, you go on your feed
and you see something else.
You go, oh gosh, what else,could it be?
What else?
And it creates this uncertaintyand this fear in your mind,
right?
And a lot of times, these fearsare created off these what ifs,
which we're going to talk abouta little bit more in a few
minutes.
But realistically, when youstart getting there, you got to
just start focusing on what youcan control, right?
See, the thing is you cannotcontrol global events.

(02:31):
You can't control politicaldecisions or economic swings, I
mean but you can control yourdaily habits.
You can control your mindsetand how you show up for yourself
and others.
See, these are the things wegot to start controlling.
Stop worrying about the big,crazy global picture going on
out there.
Right, focus on your small wins.
Focus on, you know, maybe justbuilding routines for yourself

(02:54):
that strengthen you, gettingmore sleep, eating well, moving
your body, connecting withpeople you love these are all
the things that you can focus on, that you actually have control
of it.
Now the other thing is and Itouched on it just a moment ago
is, you know it's great to stayinformed, right, you know it's
great to kind of keep up withcurrent events and all that, but
nowadays it can be overwhelmingand if the news is really

(03:16):
stressing you out, you got toset boundaries.
I know you probably don't wantto roll under a rock or hide out
in a cave somewhere because youwant to kind of be in a note,
but you got to set boundarieswith this stuff.
Maybe check your updates onceor maybe twice a day instead of
maybe constantly scrollingthrough it, and choose your
sources wisely.
There's so much disinformationout there.
There are so many peoplepushing agendas at you, and I'm

(03:37):
not talking about an Americawhere the divide is always CNN
against Fox.
I'm talking about Joe, whatever, just pushing stuff out of his
basement, just pushing an agenda, and it comes across your feed
because it's a.
You know it's a hot take to.
You know, get a lot of peopleto.
You know, press on that right.
You know, get your eyes on it,get you fired into something

(03:57):
that really it's not real, it'snot true, it's not happening,
but it has this incredibleeffect on your emotion.
So if you have to look at yournews sources, you have to do
anything really.
Just try to be more selective.
Do the research right andanchor yourself in reality, not
in fear.
See, fear, like I said earlier,thrives on what ifs.

(04:18):
What if the economy crashes?
What if AI takes my job?
What if things continue to getworse and we can't fix it?
You'll see that humanity hassurvived countless periods of
upheaval before.
I mean the Great Depression inthe 1930s in the US.
Devastated economies not justin the US but worldwide.

(04:38):
Yet new industries were bornand the world eventually
recovered.
You know, if you look at the60s and the 70s again, I'm
talking about the US there werepolitical protests, wars,
cultural shifts made many feellike society was falling apart.
Yet we pushed forward andadapted.
You know, after 9-11, there wasglobal fear, tons of

(05:00):
uncertainty, right, but peoplefound new ways to reconnect and
rebuild.
There was a financial crisis in2008.
Remember that Caused massivelayoffs, home losses and all
sorts of fear.
A lot of people are affected bythat and some people never
recovered.
But innovation did surgeafterwards, you know, giving
rise to new companies and newindustries.
So we kept moving forward.
See, history reminds us, we'vefelt like this before and we

(05:21):
have moved forward.
That, I think, is part of whatwe do the best out of being
human beings we move forward.
So for you right now, controlwhat you control and just
strengthen forward.
So for you right now, controlwhat you control and just
strengthen, if you have to, youryour inner foundation.
You know, for some people andI'm not a big meditation guy or

(05:43):
a journaling guy, uh, but somepeople again, I've talked about
this a bit meditate, journaling,uh, for some people might be
prayer, some people might bejust taking a breath, just
taking a moment, whatever helpsyou sort of connect with
yourself.
It's just you know where.
You just realize it's just notnice right now and I need to
feel a little bit better.
These things might be necessaryfor you, right?

(06:03):
Calm minds, think clearly.
Anxious minds, panic and mindsthat have incredibly too much
free time go down rabbit holes.
All right, give yourself thegift of a few minutes every day
if you have to.
You can still check in withyourself, and not so much about

(06:24):
what's going on in your feed oreverybody else and stay
connected.
I know and I'm not talkingabout on your feed, I'm not
talking about on your Facebook.
I'm not and I'm not talkingabout on your feed, I'm not
talking about on your Facebook.
I'm talking to real people.
Stay connected to people, right?
Not to panic.
It's very easy to isolate whenyou're scared, you know.
But humans, we are built forconnection, you know.

(06:45):
Talk about your worries withsomeone if you know that you
trust not something's gonna giveyou these overly aggressive
opinions about it.
Just someone you trust.
How you're feeling.
You know it's not so much it,just someone you trust.
How you're feeling.
You know it's not so much whatit might be, but it's how you're
feeling and perhaps you canhelp someone else in return.
One of the greatest gifts wecan give is ourselves to others,
because when we exist together,community really gives us

(07:07):
perspectives.
It reminds us that we're notalone, even when the world feels
uncertain.
But remember, uncertainty isn'tnew.
It's just louder right now.
It's just glaring, it'sgleaming, it's just boom right
in our faces right now,everything, all day long.
But you are stronger, you'rewiser and you're more capable

(07:30):
than your fears are telling you.
And you're more capable thanyour fears are telling you.
So just take it one step at atime, one day at a time.
You don't have to have all theanswers.
You just got to keep showing up, and really you want to keep
showing up for yourself.
All right, take care of you andtake care of the people around
you.
All right, focus on that.

(07:51):
Don't focus on the things youcan't control.
All right, that's all I got foryou today.
Hope, again, you're having agreat vacation.
You've got a great holiday.
Hope you're out there doingsomething exciting and fun.
Just do me a favor Make sureyou know if you're new to the
podcast.
Hit that subscribe button,leave a comment, check out my
book five basic keys to livingsuccessfully in between, and get
on on Amazon.

(08:11):
Love to hear your thoughts onthat and listen as always.
Be safe, have a great weekendand I've got another Maluf.
We'll see you next time.