What Is Beyond Their Control?

When characters have problems, there are two kinds of problems they can have: those within their control, and those beyond it.

When a person really hates their coworker, it is within their control. They can take actions to handle their situation, like having a calm talk with them or having an arbiter work out and acceptable resolution to their grievances.

When a person has dementia, it is beyond their control. They are prisoners of their mind.

I understand that so many stories tend to follow problems within one's control. The story becomes about the character's desire and strength to go and take care of their problems.  I also understand that some very compelling stories are made about problems beyond one's control. They either require the protagonist to find an indirect way to solve the problem, which is exciting to the planner in us, or the story forces the audience, as well as the protagonist, to simply accept that they have a problem in their life and to do the best they can to deal with it.

That said, it is very easy for people in a bad mood to see every problem as insurmountable, but sometimes we just need to think of a new way of planning, or a new way to understand what they are dealing with to realize that their problem is within their control.

As you set up your characters' problems, can you identify what is beyond their control?