The days we are in are anxious ones. Anxiety is a sense of impending danger or even doom. A key element in what makes us humans anxious is uncertainty. It's like an oscillating fan that on one turn left knows something then one turn right it knows nothing. This oscillation creates a mental state of uncertainty and therein lays anxiety.
Anxiety has an important relationship to control. If you are driving down a road at night with headlights off, you might get a bit anxious about what is up ahead…ya think? Then when the lights are back on you can see a decent ways down the road and anticipate turns, deer, raccoon, old tires and whatever is presented. That permits some control to steer left or right or slow down or even stop. Before I go further, let me give a simple definition of control: Control is the ability to start, change or stop something. Conversely, out of control is the absence of the ability to start, change or stop something. There is a varying scale of control where you might be able to start something but not change or stop it etc. And you could opt to not control something within your ability to control. That could take a few paragraphs to consider and I am not going to do that here.
In large part, my Accounting and Tax practice attempts to help clients gain better control over their business, finances and taxation. Because we have a legal system with lots of laws at the Federal, State and Local levels, it can be a daunting task. But one thing all of these laws accomplish is to bring some certainty. Laws are like the curbs on the street that say, the street ends here and the sidewalk begins. Trite yes, but fairly accurate. Knowing the Laws that affect you is a big job and Lawyers are the experts and some Accountants who have become facile with the IRC etc. However, you can and should know and understand the relevant laws as they apply to your business and tax obligations. Once known (headlights on), more control can be exercised. and adjustments made left, or right or in full avoidance of the various traps set for the uninformed (out of control). I think the very nature of 17,000 pages of tax law, rules and regulations creates the anxiety most have about taxes. It is no accident that the system has been made so complex that you need a tax expert to navigate it all. Even Tax Experts get blindsided at times because unpublished rulings like done in “Letter Rulings” happen setting up various precedence that go unknown until they are sprung on you.
In modern government, the electorate purposely gives up some control over to governing bodies. Whether it is well placed or not is a long study that frequently says no. That aside, it is imperative to understand one's own sphere of influence as to what one can or cannot exercise control over. One big and obvious example is that we the people grant the power to control the Military to the Federal Government. That seems a reasonable assignment because the Fed is entrusted with National Security. Keeping the Citizenry safe from its potential enemies etc., it is an important job so we willingly giving up some control. Try to even enter a Military base and you'll quickly see who is in control. Granting similar powers of control exists with State Police, and City/Municipal Police. These are accepted as basics and considered good and necessary. So, there are times or instances when we give up control to someone or something perhaps better suited to exercise that control. When we fly we give up control of the airplane to the pilot assuming he/she is trained and well suited for controlling the safe flight of the plane. One can hope that person was hired based upon skill level and not skin color or gender. I know, I am relentless.
In modern times, it is said that Anxiety is high (reference Mel Brooks) and the prescribing of anti-anxiety drugs somewhat tracks that. One such drug is benzodiazepine which has reportedly over 32,000,000 USA users. That's just one drug, one country. Also, the self medication using various other non medical drugs like alcohol is incalculable but presumedly quite high. What the hell are all of us so anxious about? UNCERTIANTY!
The nuclear age brought to bear a new uncertainty of whether we will wake up tomorrow as the bright cheerful person we like to be or a cinder. And the chasm between those two has a whole host of other anxieties…jeez, that 32,000,000 now seems very low. We are anxious about potential destruction of humanity through use of Nukes. It IS the modern monster at the door, under our bed and in the shadows everywhere we go. Those who might be ignorant of this looming threat might also be less anxious and happier people. The old adage is that “ignorance is bliss”. But do we seek to be ignorant? Some may, but in the broad scheme of things I think we are more inclined to seek facts, figures and knowledge. and better for it. The amount of information we can absorb is somewhat limited but the Internet has brought an awful lot of it to our fingertips if we look. The Internet is now a road and our cell phones our headlights. I personally aspire to understand as much as I can and yet I can still feel out of control in so many areas. Sigh! So much Control and so little time to exercise it.
I have often advised clients who express anxieties about this, that and the other to control local things that CAN be controlled and let go of the things or areas that cannot be controlled including those who were granted control by permission. One way of accomplishing that is through the political process voting for those we “trust”. Within that is a lot of spurious results to say the least. But we do not exercise the power to vote in the Military leaders who rise within a presumably rigorous system. The same goes for a lot of the “experts” like our Pilots, doctors, nurses, accountants, lawyers…they all have some path to get to their status and we trust it is a viable one providing thorough training and demonstrated skills.
You'll note that I am using the term TRUST. Trust is assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. When we Trust we are less anxious. So the current high numbers of those with anxiety seems tied to the loss of Trust. It has been observed that there is currently a loss of Trust in our Institutions. Common examples of social institutions include family, religion, education, government and economy. Social institutions play a significant role in shaping gender and racial norms and values. For instance, the family is a social institution that plays a vital role in the socialization of children. But there are other Institutions that are not buildings or purely social but also an institution being a humanly devised structure of rules and norms that shape and constrain social behavior. Hmm, rules and norms. A child used to be able to count on having 2 parents, but that is a long abandoned norm. A man once was able to remain employed by the same company and get a Gold watch after 50 years of service, but that is long gone too. A loaf of bread could reliably be planned in a family's budget for $1.00 but every morning the price changes. Things that were once counted on are changed or gone and the result is less certainty with its cousin anxiety increasing.
Controlling what is local and under your personal control is one answer to a less stressful or anxious life. This can and should include the local groups like church or volunteer groups or even political groups of course your business. It must include local control over education too which is why I am glad to see the federal hand in it lifting under Trumps admin. The Founding Fathers never envisioned the Federal Government having so much detailed control over the minutiae of life but here we are.
I hope you have read with an eye toward your own sphere of control and influence. Nothing said suggests we give up trying to influence those individuals and institutions above our pay grade. In fact we should be the barking dogs at their heels keeping them in check and ensuring they serve their stated purposes by and over which we granted them control.
CONTROL LOCALLY WITHIN YOUR SPEHERE OF CONTROL AND INFLUENCE THOSE YOU'VE GRANTED CONTROL TO FOR THE NEEDFUL AREAS OF MODERN LIFE. That's a good plan.
Experiment: Try asking in every daily activity, who is in control. Note your answers. If you don't like your answers, try influencing and increasing your control. Little by little you may find yourself in more control and almost of the same value, know what you are NOT in control of. It's a rude awakening to suddenly discover you are not in control as the car skids off the wet pavement into a ditch. Is that a simile or an analogy?
It is a huge step in life to know and/or understand what you can control and what you cannot control. It requires honesty and a bit of humility. That awareness alone brings more control and can lessen anxiety. A step further involves disseminating what you know to others. A collective rise in knowing and understanding what is either in or out of control and naming them is big step forward for us all.
One last question: Do you control yourself?
That seems a good topic for another day.
Best,
Donn Marier
DM-Your Own CFO