If You Have Everything Under Control, You’re Not Moving Fast Enough – Mario Andretti

In this article, we talk about the meaning of the quote – if you have everything under control. This talks about having low aims and goals in life. It also refers to the comfort zone and not identifying our strengths and capabilities. We should always grow to the ability of our dreams and push beyond the limitations of possible. This quote encourages us to move forward in life, take risks and treat it as an adventure that it can become.

If You Have Everything Under Control, You’re Not Moving Fast Enough meaning

This reminds me of the quote from Helen Keller – Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. If we have everyhing undert control, we are undertaking predictable challenges. It means that we’re playing life a little too safe. It limits us from understanding how far and wide we can stretch. Staying in our comfort zone helps us feel good about ourselves. In fact, it even supports our ego. But this feeling limits our progress. We must find a way to move forward, fail in a few things and grow.

If You Have Everything Under Control, You're Not Moving Fast Enough - Mario Andretti
If You Have Everything Under Control, You’re Not Moving Fast Enough – Mario Andretti

When life is under control, it can get boring. This life can be the most mundane and limiting factor because we’re not challenging ourselves enough. The meaning of if you have everything under control you’re not moving fast enough can be captured in the following key points:

  • Complete control means that you know everything in the situation – This can happen with only backward looking tasks where unknowns are limited. Unless you face unknowns, how will you know what you’re capable of?
  • Unpredictability is an important part of life. If everything is predictable, are you moving fast enough or are you taking up the right type of challenges? Venture outside the comfort zone to find new challenges in life.
  • Are your goals big enough? In the desire to play safe, are you not holding yourself back?
  • Risk taking is a part and definition of human beings. We need to find a way to embrace our ability to be on an adventure with ourselves and our life.
  • Total control is a myth. Even if it exists, this will be only in a small bubble that we create for ourselves.

8 thoughts on “If You Have Everything Under Control, You’re Not Moving Fast Enough – Mario Andretti”

  1. Thank you Bindu :). I guess we all need that push, sometimes from peers, sometimes from our own selves and sometimes from the circumstances and the environment we create for ourselves. In the end, it is all about reaching our excellence and optimal self :)

  2. THank you Mayuresh. I think we all fall into that zone of self pity which makes us wonder why it is only us who are supposed to face all these stupid and unnecessary things in life. But the beauty is in moving beyond that and knowing that it is ok to feel these things it takes quite a character to move beyond that and that really counts :)

  3. Thank you Maniparna. Indeed, complacency really kills all efforts and hence any growth that can result from these actions. It reminds me of a techincal term entropy where given a natural flow of circumstances, everything is headed for a downfall. Considering that, the onus is always upon us to be a little proactive and take control over the circumstances and our responses to them in our lives.

  4. He he indeed Sweety, life sure does have a zany sense of humor and it is startling how much irony is a part of it :D .. But it is pretty neat to know how life constantly wants us to get out of the comfort zone cos there is so much waiting for us :)

  5. Well, Life has a strange way of upsetting our surfboard just when we think we are on top of the wave. I would say Life has a zany sense of humor.

  6. Maniparna Sengupta Majumder

    Complacency kills the grwoth….. very well-written, Vinay… :-)

  7. Yes you are correct If challenges are removed from our life we complaint about boredom, and it they are added we say “saala mere saath he aisa hota hain”. So fact is we actually like challenges we just tend to show we don’t like it. Without Challenges life would be like non-living thing.

  8. Bindu Cherungath

    U have written it so nicely. Yes, there is always an area which needs focus … And also, we can not afford to be complacent in life and not explore our optimum self.. Nicely written..

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