"I think Donald just criticised me for preparing for this debate. And yes, I did. And you know what else I prepared for? I prepared to be president. And I think that's a good thing."
Some pundits are saying this is the moment when Hillary Clinton won that first US presidential debate last month.
More News Videos
Trump v Clinton: debate gets heated
See some of the more heated moments of the first US presidential debatee.
Personally, I think it was when she turned Trump's disparaging comments about her stamina back on him: "As soon as he travels to 112 countries and negotiates a peace deal, a ceasefire, a release of dissidents, an opening of new opportunities in nations around the world, or even spends 11 hours testifying in front of a congressional committee he can talk to me about stamina." It was yet another parry that ended up with the audience laughing at Trump, not with him.
But whichever specific remark swung the debate her way, Clinton is famous for her hard work and her ability to get across vital details. Even people who don't like her give her credit for that. What she does, in fact, is the only thing any of us can do to make a difference between success and failure.
!["Clinton understands where she stops and the rest of the world begins- which may well be the definition of sanity."](/web/20161025223328im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/o/e/i/3/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gs6epy.png/1477174297751.jpg)
Clinton prepares; she concentrate on her own efforts, research and practice – what she can put in, in other words, rather than on what others may take out.
This does not guarantee, of course, that she will win the presidential election. She has merely controlled what she can: she understands where she stops and the rest of the world begins – which may very well be the definition of sanity. Sadly, such wisdom is not common.
We live in a world that is obsessed with trying to control the uncontrollable. When I still worked in advertising, I was asked by a client whether I could guarantee that the ad campaign I was presenting to him would meet his sales objectives. I told him I could not, any more than I could guarantee that my children would grow up to be worthwhile citizens – all I could do was give it my best shot, whether I was writing his ads or rearing my kids.
Come to think of it, if someone much cleverer than I am invented a foolproof advertising technique that would force people to rush to the shops and buy the product, it would soon become illegal to use it. None of us wants to be controlled by others and we will resist attempts to do so vigorously.
Oddly, we don't think about this when the boot is on the other foot. Parents seek to control their children and cannot understand when their teenagers rebel. Teachers are now blamed (and may soon have their pay docked) if they can't control how well their students do in exams. Businesses reward and punish their employees according to results (now called "outcomes") and often ignore inputs completely.
As a result, we drive ourselves crazy trying to second-guess how other people might react to what we are doing. In fact, I believe that most of our current epidemic of anxiety and depression can be blamed on the obsession with trying to control the things we can't. There has been a six-fold increase in prescriptions for such conditions in the past 20 years, but drugs may not be the only answer.
Thanks to years of therapy (which I recommend to everyone), when I finally learnt to concentrate on inputs and let outcomes take care of themselves, not only did I let go of anxiety but outcomes also improved. I think there are two reasons for this. The first is I stayed true to myself. Sure,I still made mistakes, but at least they were my mistakes. Th e second is due to the amount of energy I saved by no longer worrying about things I couldn't change – and put to much better use.
To return to Clinton, the pressure on her before that first debate must have been stupendous. She controlled what she could and let go of what she couldn't (including, during the second debate, Trump's extraordinary threat to put her in jail). No doubt, as she has already said, that is how she will approach the biggest job in the world.
"Que sera, sera/Whatever will be, will be/The future's not ours to see," said the song from my youth. It's a simple philosophy and a great antidote to anxiety. It is also so powerful it may even help Clinton become the US's first female president.