Although this has always been the case, I have recently been more aware of how many discussions over coffee, water coolers and dinner parties are focused on topics that none of us have influence over. Of course, talking about the weather has always worked as a kind of social lubricant, but more recently politics has been the topic of choice. Especially the politics of a country to the west of most of us. The challenge is of course that this is great for social signalling as we tut-tut about how terrible things are and how the world is going to hell in a handbasket and everyone agrees with each other. However, it does violate one of the key principles of Stephen Covey’s famous book: focus your energy of your circle of control and your circle of influence and avoid focusing energy on your circle of concern. The Stoics employ the same principle and in my view it’s a good rule to live by as it avoids you wasting your energy on things you can’t do anything about. So, next time you get really worked up about something, ask yourself the question: can I change it? If not, simply let it go and don’t waste energy on it.