Acts of power
Acts have power when you focus on what's under your control and not the outcome
Actions vs. outcomes
Acts have power when we fully concentrate on the act, not the outcome. This may contradict many things we have been taught, such as ‘be results-focused’ and ‘only winning matters.’ What is the difference between focusing on actions and focusing on outcomes? Why is focusing on acts more important than focusing on outcomes?
I knew of a talented young chef (let me call him John Smith, not his real name) whose dream it was to create his own restaurant to showcase his culinary skills. He didn’t have enough money, but that didn’t stop him. For the next few years, he saved every penny he could. It helped, but not enough to open his dream restaurant. However, he had saved enough money and had such a reputation as a rising star that he was easily able to borrow a large sum of money to open his own restaurant. This was in early 2020.
Within months, restrictive regulations came into effect because of COVID-19. First, people were asked to wear masks, and then they were not even allowed to go out unless it was for essential business. Restaurants started closing down. Our young chef had to pay back his heavy loan to the bank and pay his lease to the landlord. He had sunk all his savings in the restaurant, but no money was coming in. The Government helped him financially to a certain extent, and the landlord was patient—for a while. As the pandemic went on indefinitely, the young chef had no choice but to close his restaurant to stop the financial bleeding and declare bankruptcy. He became very bitter, and as far as I know, he never recovered from his misfortune. He had his whole life ahead of him, yet he chose to give up in bitterness.
Let’s go back in time to 1914. A 67-year-old inventor in New Jersey saw eleven buildings in his plant, which he built over a quarter of a century, go up in smoke. Because the plant contained many chemicals, the fire could not be put out quickly. According to The World, the loss was $7 million, although the plant was insured only for about $2 million. (Later estimates put the loss around $23 million.) You would think this was a devastating loss for a 67-year-old man. But when reporters interviewed him, he said, “I’m pretty well burned out, boys. But I’ll start all over again tomorrow.” And he did. Here are some of the things he invented after the fire destroyed eleven buildings in his plant: alkaline storage batteries, concrete houses, warfare technologies, and an improved phonograph. Even if you are unfamiliar with this incident, I’m sure you would have guessed the inventor’s name—Thomas Edison.
Acts of power vs. thoughts of weakness
What is the difference between John Smith and Thomas Edison? Both were talented in their fields. Both faced sudden misfortune. One became bitter because he focused only on the outcome over which he had no control, while the other continued to be successful because he was totally focused on the action over which he had control. John could not have predicted the onset of COVID-19, and Edison could not have predicted the fire. John was defeated because he was focused on the outcome, but Edison emerged victorious because he focused on what was under his control—his next action. Our acts have power when we act on what is under our control,
If you deal with only those things that are under your control, no one can force you to do anything you don’t want to do; no one can stop you. You will have no enemy and no harm will come to you. - Epictetus, Encheiridion, 1
But what happens when we focus on the outcome over which we have no control?
If you think you can control things over which you have no control, then you will be hindered and disturbed. You will start complaining and become a fault-finding person. - Epictetus, Encheiridion, 1
John’s actions were not acts of power. If he had chosen otherwise, he could have picked himself up and worked for someone else until he rebuilt his capital as he did the first time and could have bounced back. Instead, he was consumed by things he had lost, over which he had no control. His thoughts became acts of weakness. He was “hindered and disturbed, and he started complaining and becoming a fault-finding person”—just as Epictetus predicted.
Turning thoughts of weakness into acts of power
How do we turn our thoughts of weakness into acts of power? By shifting our focus from what we cannot control (e.g., the plant burning down) to what we can control. (e.g. rebuilding it).
Not being able to govern events, I govern myself, and if they won’t adapt to me, I’ll adapt to them. - Michel de Montaigne, Of Presumption
Acts of power are effective and also therapeutic because we substitute them for despair. Our power to choose is far more important than what happens to us.
Externals are outside my power. My choices are within my power. Where will I find the good and the bad? Within me, in things that are my own. - Epictetus, Discourses, 2.5
Where is the good? In our choices. Where is the bad? In our choices. - Epictetus, Discourses, 2.16
It is not COVID-19 or the fire that made things good or bad. It’s the choice between focusing on the outcome not under our control (as John did) and focusing on what is in our control (as Edison did) that made things good or bad. In every misfortune, we have a choice: To focus on what we don’t control or to act on what we do. We are challenged to choose between thoughts of weakness and acts of power.
Don’t focus on what happened. Focus on what you can do about it.
Only your choice matters. Only your choice to focus on what you control at any moment can turn thoughts of weakness into acts of power.
Try this simple exercise
Think of something that is bothering you, and causing you to feel stuck. You feel stuck because it is not under your control, and you are focussing on what you cannot control. The situation could be anything: the prospect of losing your job, an impending divorce, an unfavourable medical diagnosis, being criticized by your boss, or anything else. You feel stuck because, most likely, you can’t do anything about the outcome. Now think of one thing—however small—that you can do that is under your control: For example, updating your resume and looking for job opportunities (losing your job), making the divorce amicable and not acrimonious (an impending divorce), looking for the best option for a cure (an unfavourable medical diagnosis), or understanding why you were criticized and what you can do about it (being criticized by your boss) are all acts of power. They will take you from your thoughts of helplessness to a much better place—a place of strength.
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