“The personal, as every one’s so fucking fond of saying, is political. So if some idiot politician, some power player, tries to execute policies that harm you or those you care about, TAKE IT PERSONALLY. Get angry. The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here—it is slow and cold, and it is theirs, hardware and soft. Only the little people suffer at the hands of Justice; the creatures of power slide out from under with a wink and a grin. If you want justice, you will have to claw it from them. Make it PERSONAL. Do as much damage as you can. GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS. That way you stand a far better chance of being taken seriously next time. Of being considered dangerous. And make no mistake about this: being taken seriously, being considered dangerous marks the difference, the ONLY difference in their eyes, between players and little people. Players they will make deals with. Little people they liquidate. And time and again they cream your liquidation, your displacement, your torture and brutal execution with the ultimate insult that it’s just business, it’s politics, it’s the way of the world, it’s a tough life and that IT’S NOTHING PERSONAL. Well, fuck them. Make it personal.”
-Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1)
Wouldn’t have expected an Altered Carbon quote here, but it really fits the question and is a perfect answer.
Recognize that class struggle is real, and therefore the conquest of power by the working classes is necessary. This requires educating the working classes on political theory, history, and practice. It also requires agitating, being at the front line of struggle, and coherently leading the working classes to higher levels of political awareness in an all-sided struggle. It also requires organizing, forming a revolutionary party, a media apparatus to spread ideas, forming and improving worker and tenant unions, and more.
Organize.
The second part is not actually related to the first.
If something is beyond your control all you can do is manage how you deal with it. There is no other option. As someone with anxiety, I’ve spent too much of my life on this.
Living is learning and deciding what things you should give a fuck about, what battles to pick, and what to walk away from.
When you’re worried about the uncertainty, say to yourself: “okay, let’s assume this happens, then what, how do I deal with it, what is the worst that can happen”. Often running through things honestly can help you decide how much you need to worry about them.
But conversely, if you find yourself paralyzed with fear, then you need to learn to put yourself in the present. Not the past, not the future. Meditation can help with that. Sometimes I need to find a distraction for myself. Sometimes I need another person to support me through those moments.
Remember, it’s never wrong to ask someone to support you, even if it’s hard.
Good questions. I’d like to refer to the answer from panda_abyss. It’s called “stoic philosophy” or “stoicism”, and it’s a mighty tool, if you know how to handle it. Over the years it actually helped me with anxiety/panic and depression. To me, it was even more effective than therapy, because following stoic principles actually feels like some sort of low-level-everyday-therapy.
So if you struggle with overwhelming emotions about where the world is headed, I’d recommend giving this a read or two.
how do you handle situations and outcomes beyond your control?
obviously if they’re situations that I’m not personally handling, then I do not handle them. Simple.
Play video games. I can make the world be however I like in video games.
I suffer and go hungry. I struggle and fail to find an income that will allow me to be comfortable. Everything outside of that is a screaming blur that sometimes steals the bread from my mouth.
Poorly.
