Anxious About Everything? Become a Control Freak (the Good Kind)

By Oz Muwaniri · 15 May 2026

Three people planning together around a desk

When we moved from Dublin to the West of Ireland, it was a big leap of faith for our family.

On our very first day, my wife sent me out for bread and milk. Ten minutes, tops.

Then the GPS gave up. My phone signal vanished. And I was driving round unfamiliar country roads with my young daughter in the back asking, every two minutes, “Dad, are we lost?”

“No, love,” I said. Smiling. Calm. Totally in control.

Inside, I was not calm.

What if this move was a mistake?

What if I run out of fuel out here?

What if I fail at this whole thing?

That’s how anxiety works. One small worry turns into an avalanche of “what ifs”. And nearly all of them are about things I can’t control.

Maybe you know the feeling. A job that’s wobbling. A health scare. The cost of living. The news. It’s very easy to spiral.

Press the help button

There’s a letter in the Bible written by a man called Paul. He wasn’t writing from a nice café. He was writing from a Roman prison, not knowing if he’d live or die. And he wrote this:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6, NIV)

Now, “do not be anxious” can sound a bit glib if you’re lying awake at 3am. But look at what he actually tells us to do. Not “cop on”. Not “think positive”. He says: tell God about it.

Think about being stuck in a lift. Most of us panic, pace about and jab at the door. The sensible thing is to press the help button.

Prayer is the help button.

You don’t need fancy words. You don’t need to know the right religious phrases. Prayer is just talking honestly to God. Even “God, I don’t know if you’re there, but I’m worried sick” counts. The more you do it, the more natural it gets.

And Paul makes a promise about what happens next:

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7, NIV)

Now become a control freak

Here’s the second part. And it’s where I’m going to tell you to become a control freak.

Usually that’s an insult. But when it comes to your mind, it’s a superpower. Paul goes on:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

In other words, you get to choose what you feed your mind.

One of the oldest tricks in the book is getting us to give up the things we can control by staring at the things we can’t.

You can’t control:

the economy
the weather (this is Ireland, after all)
other people’s opinions of you

But you can control far more than you think:

how you respond today
what you scroll, watch and listen to
who you spend your time with
whether you’re generous
whether you pray

The best control is self-control

When I stop obsessing over the handful of things I can’t control, and take charge of the hundreds of things I can, something shifts. The worries don’t vanish overnight. But they get lighter. And peace gets heavier.

So here’s the deal. Hand God the things you can’t control. Pray about them. Then take charge of the things you can.

(And yes, we did find the shop. Eventually. The bread and milk made it home.)

Your next steps

A question to sit with: What’s one worry I keep chewing on that’s completely outside my control? What would it look like to hand it to God today, in a sentence?
Try this: Write two lists tonight. “Things I can’t control” and “Things I can”. Pray about the first. Pick one thing from the second and do it tomorrow.
Read next: If money is the thing keeping you up at night, start with Stressed About Money? A Simple First Step.
Come and say hello: If you’re in Galway, Caroline and I would love to meet you at L15 Church. We meet Sundays at 11am in the Maldron Hotel. No pressure, come as you are.