3 Points: The Triangle of Control
The 3 components shown in the diagram, in my opinion, encompass the majority of what we have control over in life. Unfortunately, it’s very little. While examining these three points, I’ve leaned into the fact that God is fully in charge, fully in control, and that it’s best that way. I’ve taught on this piece to hundreds of leaders in the past. Just this morning I covered it with a small team in one of our Foundation businesses. All of us could use a quick refresh on what God has placed in our hands, and examine how we’re utilizing the opportunity.
LET’S EXAMINE TRIANGLE OF CONTROL TOGETHER.
POINT #1 - TIME
If asked, many would say that time is a resource. Clearly, in this example, it is not. It’s displayed in a totally separate point on the triangle. Remember – this triangle is about what we consider to be in our “control”. Time itself is not in our control, but the allotted time that we are given is. In the equation of control, time is a constraint. It is a limiting factor, not something we can use. All things being equal, for every human on planet earth that makes it through each day, we are given the same identical constraint of 24 hours. 1,440 minutes. No more, no less. For every human being who makes it to age 80 – we are given the same number of weeks in life. Just 4,160. No more, no less.
This is not a resource that we can pay for, extract more of, or count on. It’s a limiting factor that we all experience throughout our lives, with an undetermined expiration date. Some of our greatest human fears exist because the limiting factor of time is so deeply sown within our hearts. We fear death because we have a clock ticking on our life. We fear the future because we don’t know how long it will last, or what it will bring. We crave meaning because we know that we don’t have forever to figure our life. Time is always on our minds, and always expiring, whether we like it or not.
POINT #2 - RESOURCES
We all have various degrees of resources at our disposal. Everyone from the richest man on earth to the poorest and most isolated have unique resources available. Let’s break down some practical examples that mostof us in America wake up with every single day.
1. Food. We can all typically get something to eat. Allows us to think longer term, rather than just finding our next meal for survival.
2. Shelter. Most of us can get into a shelter or already have permanent housing.
3. Cell phones. An overwhelming percentage of us now have simple means of instant communication via call and text.
4. The Internet. More so than ever we have information and purchasing power at our fingertips.
5. Education. Whether publicly available schools or the library, we have access to information and instruction like never before.
6. Electricity. We have the ability to see well into the night, which allows us to get far more done than previous generations before us.
7. Transportation. Cars, buses, trains, planes, boats, scooters, uber – we now have so many ways to get around even if we don’t own a vehicle. Many options are getting cheaper and more accessible even to less affluent populations.
8. Work. In today’s modern economy there are more ways to make income than ever before. Traditional jobs are still the norm, but a growing number of ways are emerging to be your own boss. Income diversity and income optionality has grown, providing resources and access to money in ways never seen in world history.
The resources at our disposal may be different, but they are plentiful and available in modern society in ways sometimes not known to historical Kings and Queens. Egyptian Pharaohs never knew the luxury of air-conditioning or turning on a light bulb. Even the richest of ancient rulers had to endure weeks of hard travel to see parts of their kingdom. Today, we can literally fly to the other side of the world in less than 24 hours. Time may be our constraint, but our resources are abundant. We are living through a time where the imagination is sometimes our greatest limitation.
POINT #3 - CHOICES
Well, here we are. With a time constraint and today’s available resources. What often separates the good from the great, or those we admire from those we forget, are the choices that we make with what we have available. Our choices mean everything. Now, this piece of the triangle is the most complex. Our choices are a reflection of our perceptions on how we judge incoming information, the belief structure that we rinse those perceptions through, and our ability to sift through potential rewards and consequences of our actions pertaining to those beliefs. Some choices are habits that are well formed and given little thought, and some choices are made based on current information. Our choices are what actually defines us. No one has ever been remembered for what they received – only for what they gave or did with what they had available. This prong of the triangle is the difference maker for all of us, whether a company or individual.
Today our reminder is that time is limited. Our resources are God given. Our freewill dictates how we’ll use what we’ve got with the time that we’ve got left. Up to us, but God is calling. He has plans and wants more for you than you could ever imagine. Today I’m doing some praying over which piece of the puzzle he’d like me to examine more closely, so I can get closer to him. Praying for you that you’ll all think on this and do the same!
-Mark
