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.

Instagram: @mikemuldoonlc
Website: www.themikemuldoonpodcast.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/mike-muldoon-podcast

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Family Updates
• 1:07 Uncertainty in Today's World
• 2:10 Focus on What You Control
• 3:17 Setting Boundaries with Media
• 4:15 Learning from Historical Upheavals
• 5:42 Building Inner Strength and Connection

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

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

Speaker 1: 0:25

I didn't start that podcast. I started this podcast on a journey, um, and if you go back and you listen, you'll hear that I continually moved transatlantic, moved jobs, uh, from a startup to other things and so on and so forth, moving through, and my wife and I are now about to start a whole new venture. And on top of this whole new venture that I'll talk to you I'll probably talk to you about it next week on we just decided to randomly throw in a move as well, right in between it. All Same area, same thing, just we needed a little bit more space. So but anyway, we're going to talk more about that next week.

Speaker 1: 0:54

But, man, the world is crazy right now and I just, I can just see people. I could see it in their faces, I could see it in their eyes. They're just filled with a world of uncertainty in their own private universe. And I want to talk today about how we stay grounded in a world of uncertainty, especially when times feel so heavy right now Economic uncertainty, political tensions, war tariffs, ai, reshaping industries I mean it can feel like too much for some, it can feel overbearing. I mean, everywhere we turn, there's another reason to worry. So I want to talk about how we deal with this today. How do we stay grounded when the world feels like it's spinning faster and faster out of our control? I get it Every day.

Speaker 1: 2:10

You get up, you probably turn on the 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 uncertainty and this fear in your mind, right? And a lot of times, these fears are created off these what ifs, which we're going to talk about a little bit more in a few minutes.

Speaker 1: 2:24

But realistically, when you start getting there, you got to just start focusing on what you can control, right? See, the thing is you cannot control global events. You can't control political decisions or economic swings, I mean but you can control your daily habits. You can control your mindset and how you show up for yourself and others. See, these are the things we got 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 just building routines for yourself that strengthen you, getting more sleep, eating well, moving your body, connecting with people you love these are all the things that you can focus on, that you actually have control of it.

Speaker 1: 3:04

Now the other thing is and I touched on it just a moment ago is, you know it's great to stay informed, right, you know it's great to kind of keep up with current events and all that, but nowadays it can be overwhelming and if the news is really stressing you out, you got to set boundaries. I know you probably don't want to roll under a rock or hide out in a cave somewhere because you want to kind of be in a note, but you got to set boundaries with this stuff. Maybe check your updates once or maybe twice a day instead of maybe constantly scrolling through it, and choose your sources wisely. There's so much disinformation out there. There are so many people pushing agendas at you, and I'm not talking about an America where 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 people to. You know, press on that right. You know, get your eyes on it, get you fired into something that really it's not real, it's not true, it's not happening, but it has this incredible effect on your emotion.

Speaker 1: 4:04

So if you have to look at your news sources, you have to do anything really. Just try to be more selective. Do the research right and anchor yourself in reality, not in fear. See, fear, like I said earlier, thrives on what ifs. What if the economy crashes? What if AI takes my job? What if things continue to get worse and we can't fix it?

Speaker 1: 4:29

You'll see that humanity has survived countless periods of upheaval before. I mean the Great Depression in the 1930s in the US. Devastated economies not just in the US but worldwide. Yet new industries were born and the world eventually recovered. You know, if you look at the 60s and the 70s again, I'm talking about the US there were political protests, wars, cultural shifts made many feel like society was falling apart. Yet we pushed forward and adapted. You know, after 9-11, there was global fear, tons of uncertainty, right, but people found new ways to reconnect and rebuild. There was a financial crisis in 2008. Remember that Caused massive layoffs, home losses and all sorts of fear. A lot of people are affected by that and some people never recovered. But innovation did surge afterwards, you know, giving rise to new companies and new industries. So we kept moving forward. See, history reminds us, we've felt like this before and we have moved forward. That, I think, is part of what we do the best out of being human beings we move forward.

Speaker 1: 5:30

So for you right now, control what you control and just strengthen forward. So for you right now, control what you control and just strengthen, if you have to, your your inner foundation. You know, for some people and I'm not a big meditation guy or a journaling guy, uh, but some people again, I've talked about this a bit meditate, journaling, uh, for some people might be prayer, some people might be just taking a breath, just taking a moment, whatever helps you sort of connect with yourself. It's just you know where. You just realize it's just not nice right now and I need to feel a little bit better. These things might be necessary for you, right? Calm minds, think clearly. Anxious minds, panic and minds that have incredibly too much free time go down rabbit holes. All right, give yourself the gift of a few minutes every day if you have to.

Speaker 1: 6:20

You can still check in with yourself, and not so much about what's going on in your feed or everybody else and stay connected. I know and I'm not talking about on your feed, I'm not talking about on your Facebook. I'm not and I'm not talking about 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 when you're scared, you know. But humans, we are built for connection, you know.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Talk about your worries with someone if you know that you trust not something's gonna give you 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 what it might be, but it's how you're feeling and perhaps you can help someone else in return. One of the greatest gifts we can give is ourselves to others, because when we exist together, community really gives us perspectives. It reminds us that we're not alone, even when the world feels uncertain. But remember, uncertainty isn't new. It's just louder right now. It's just glaring, it's gleaming, it's just boom right in our faces right now, everything, all day long.

Speaker 1: 7:26

But you are stronger, you're wiser and you're more capable than your fears are telling you. And you're more capable than your fears are telling you. So just take it one step at a time, one day at a time. You don't have to have all the answers. You just got to keep showing up, and really you want to keep showing up for yourself. All right, take care of you and take care of the people around you. All right, focus on that. Don't focus on the things you can't control. All right, that's all I got for you today. Hope, again, you're having a great vacation. You've got a great holiday. Hope you're out there doing something exciting and fun. Just do me a favor Make sure you know if you're new to the podcast. Hit that subscribe button, leave a comment, check out my book five basic keys to living successfully in between, and get on on Amazon. Love to hear your thoughts on that and listen as always. Be safe, have a great weekend and I've got another Maluf. We'll see you next time.