I am in Control Day

What the day is

I Am in Control Day is observed on March 30. It takes its name from a remark made on March 30, 1981, in the hours after President Ronald Reagan was shot outside a Washington hotel and taken to the hospital. As officials scrambled to understand what had happened, Secretary of State Alexander Haig told reporters in the White House press room, as of now, I am in control here.

The line was widely criticized, and it has been remembered as an example of a statement that sounded far more sweeping than he meant. The day plays off it with humor, and today it is mostly used as a nudge to take charge of your own small tasks.

Origin and background

Haig, a retired general, said later that he had meant he was in control of the administration's response in the crisis, with the vice president away from Washington. Under the Constitution and the succession laws, however, the order of authority runs from the vice president to the Speaker of the House and the Senate's president pro tempore, and the Secretary of State comes after them. Reagan recovered and returned to work, and Haig left office in 1982, after other disagreements within the administration.

The day's useful side is a different idea in psychology. In the 1950s the psychologist Julian Rotter described a concept called locus of control, which is the degree to which people believe their own actions shape what happens to them. Research tends to find that people with a stronger sense of control over their lives handle stress better, though the benefit comes from focusing on what is truly within your reach, rather than trying to control everything.

How to take part

• Write down everything on your mind, then circle the items that you can actually influence today.
• Choose one small task you have been putting off, and finish it before noon.
• Make a simple plan for the day, with three priorities, and stick to it.
• Let go of one thing that you cannot change, such as the weather, traffic or someone else's mood.
• Say it with a smile: tell a friend, I am in control, and wait for the laugh.