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CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES times of fear, the Bible reminds us to go to God instead—that we can find rest and guidance in Him. Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) states, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We do not have to face our problems alone or rely on our limited knowledge. Instead, we can turn our worries over to God and ask Him to correct our paths.

Control the Controllables! This is a common phrase used in sport psychology. It is a quick way to remind performers to quit worrying about what they can not control and focus on what they can. It sounds so profound and simple, yet incredibly difficult to do. Wrestlers pitted against larger opponents can not change who they were paired with, but they can decide how much effort they put into their perfor mance. A musician cannot make it sunny on the day of their outdoor performance, but they can bring warm clothes. What is important here is that per formers do not distract themselves from their cur rent preparation and performance by worrying about things they cannot change. Worrying acts like an in ternal distractor, preventing performers from focus ing on what they should focus on. Thus, not only does it not fix whatever they are worrying about, but it could also hurt their performance. God does not want us to worry, either. Matthew 6:34 (NIV) states, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” God wants us to draw upon Him for strength and guidance. While human nature is to turn to self-reliance in

I will leave you with a prayer that I always teach my sport psychology students since it beautifully connects this Scripture to controlling the controllable. I have provided it below, with my interpretation in italics. The Serenity Prayer God, grant me the serenity ( let me trust you, give me peace ) to accept the things I cannot change ( accept that which I cannot control ), the courage to change the things I can ( control the controllables ), and the wisdom to know the difference ( rely upon God’s guidance ). 8

Kristin Mauldin, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Sport and Performance Psychology and serves as the Director of the Sport and Performance Psychology Master’s Program at California Baptist University.

KRISTIN MAULDIN, PH.D.

GAME ON : A NEWSLETTER OF THE SPORT AND PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY DIVISION

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