The Art of Stepping Back | ft. Robert Greene
Hey folks! Today I have something to say about a thought that seems obvious at first, but becomes really unsettling the longer we think about it. What if you are not as in control of your own mind as you think you are? Recently, a very renowned author, Robert Greene — the author of The 48 Laws of Power and The Laws of Human Nature — posted a reel on his Instagram page about how you don’t control your own consciousness, and here’s how you can begin reclaiming your mind, and I’m going to discuss it.
He described consciousness as a kind of spaceship carrying us through life. This idea stuck with me immediately because it can work at different phases of our lives. You wake up and feel very productive, then twenty minutes later, you imagine 10 worst‑case scenarios, think of a three‑month‑old conversation with your ex, and somehow convince yourself that nobody texted you good morning, which means nobody wants to make you feel special. The spaceship has taken off. You didn’t approve the route, and yet here we go.
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What I find interesting is that Greene doesn’t want to say that we’re powerless…we don’t have any control over this spaceship. We just turned on the autopilot mode. A thought comes, and we believe it. An emotion comes, and we feel it. Anxiety knocks on the door, and we hand it the keys to open the door of our mind. An anxious thought never seems like a possibility…it looks like a certainty. “This will go wrong!” “They are judging you!” “Something bad is about to happen!” “You’re not prepared!” Even for a nonexistent fear, the mind becomes very creative and produces evidence to prove it. Which is why I think the most valuable point of Greene’s idea isn’t control. It’s an observation. The moment you stop and ask… “Why am I feeling this right now?” By that, you’ve created a tiny gap between yourself and that specific emotion, which was feeling like being automatic previously. Instead of being taken by anxiety, you’re now observing it, and that matters the most.
I remember reading somewhere that a fish probably doesn’t need water because it has never experienced anything else. Similarly, we’ve just been fed by our thoughts without realizing we’re inside them. “I feel anxious!” becomes “I am anxious!” Sounds similar, but they’re not. One describes an experience, and the other becomes a definition. That’s why Greene’s suggestion of locating the feeling in the body is so interesting. Like, where is it? In your body? In your chest? Before anyone throws away their medication or cancels their therapy appointment, let’s acknowledge something important first. For many people dealing with clinical anxiety, depression, OCD, or other mental health conditions, awareness alone may not be enough. Professional help, therapy, medication, support systems…these things can be life‑changing and sometimes necessary. But I don’t think Greene is against help…instead, he’s pointing toward a mastery. A way of relating differently to what’s happening inside our heads. Whether you’re struggling with everyday stress or something more serious, awareness is often where change begins.
What fascinates me most is how often anxiety and excitement have the same nature. Both can make your heart race, and both involve uncertainty. Yet one says… “Something terrible might happen!” and the other says… “Something meaningful might happen!” Sometimes the physical sensations seem similar, only the interpretation changes. And perhaps, that’s where awareness becomes powerful. Because it gives us a choice. A pause, a moment, in which we can think… “Is this thought helpful?” “Is this fear reasonable?” “Do I need to follow this feeling completely?”
The mind is a wonderful thing, but also very dramatic. It loves predictions and creating stories that sound real. The challenge is learning to watch the storyteller without believing every plot twist. Then you will reclaim your mind. Just becoming aware enough to realize that you don’t have to follow every thought you think. You’re just noticing them. And, sometimes that tiny bit of distance is where freedom begins.
