Step 3: Identify What IS Actually in Your Control

Complete Sterling Logical Language (SLL) System v. 16

## Current State:

- **Axiom**: Only virtue is good, only vice is evil

- **Rule**: Don't desire externals  

- **Control Test**: "Is this in my control or not?"

## Step 3: The Precision Upgrade

**WHAT'S ACTUALLY CONTROLLED**: Your beliefs, judgments, and choices about how to respond.

## Why This Matters:

The control test is good, but people get confused about the boundaries. Step 3 gives you **precision**.

## The Three Things You Control:

1. **Your Beliefs**: What you think is true about any situation

2. **Your Judgments**: What you think is good, bad, or indifferent about anything  

3. **Your Choices**: How you decide to respond or act

## Everything Else is External:

- Your body, health, appearance

- Other people's actions, thoughts, feelings

- Past events, future outcomes

- Your reputation, success, failure

- Material possessions, circumstances

## How to Apply This:

**Before reacting to anything, ask:**

- "What am I believing about this situation?"

- "What judgment am I making about whether this is good or bad?"

- "What choice do I have about how to respond?"

## Examples:

- **Someone insults you**: You control your belief about what their opinion means, your judgment about whether insults harm you, and your choice of response

- **You get sick**: You don't control the illness, but you control your beliefs about what sickness means, your judgment about whether it's catastrophic, and your choices about treatment

- **You lose your job**: You don't control the firing, but you control your beliefs about your worth, your judgment about whether this is disaster or opportunity, and your choices about what to do next

## What This Enables:

**Surgical Precision**: Instead of vaguely asking "is this in my control?", you can pinpoint exactly WHERE your control lies in any situation.

## What's Next:

Step 4 would be understanding that **your emotions come from your judgments** - so controlling your judgments controls your emotional life.

But for now: **Practice identifying your beliefs, judgments, and choices in real situations.**

Step 4: Your Emotions Come From Your Judgments