In Nepal, the dogs bark all night long. Every 20 minutes or so they all stop at the same time and there’s an immense feeling of relief.

Then they start back up again.

Turns out the Nepali people don’t freak out, throw stones or beat the dogs into silence. They don’t do anything at all. They realize it’s silly to control factors outside of their control. They’re experts at dealing with the dogs because they don’t deal with them at all.

What they do is learn how to survive with the barking. They create conditions inside themselves and in their environment that allows them to rise above the barking. They realized that worrying about the barking steals even more sleep than sleeping amidst the barking.

Think about the demands on your time, energy, focus, and peace of mind everyday. How often do conflicting responsibilities, commitments and decisions weigh on our minds and leave us irritable, helpless, and unable to do what we want?

It’s the control factor. Trying to control factors you can’t inherently control is a big waste of time. Better to control what you’re able to and stop worrying about the rest. The demands will never grow shorter or smaller, but our ability to rise above them can expand as much as we want.