Detachment. Surrender. Trust.
“Sure, I can sit back, relax, and trust that everything is going to work out,” says myself when things are floating along nicely with life.
“Okay, I need to Google that thing again for the hundredth time in case I get a different answer, refresh my messages every two minutes in case that person I’m waiting on finally gets back to me, and make no future plans until I know exactly what the future looks like,” says myself in the middle of a crisis.
Detachment. Surrender. Trust.
It’s easy until life isn’t actually easy.
Letting go is not about throwing your hands up and giving up. It’s about trusting in the outcome even when you can’t see the bigger picture yet. Align your actions toward a future you want, but don’t expect them to lead anywhere.
Trying to control everything actually veers you off course from life’s natural rhythm.
If God or the universe wants you to go left at the fork but you can’t see around the bend so you opt for the seemingly safer path to the right that you can see clearly, you are fighting your own future. Uncertainty gets the better of you, and you might miss out on something far better than that predictable path.
Plus, have you ever noticed it takes insane amounts of mental and physical energy to try to control everything whereas flowing with the current of surrender costs you nothing?
I am by no means perfect at this. It’s a constant work in progress, but here’s a little activity you can try.
The next time you feel uncertainty, stress, a bodily sensation, or a deep emotion, sit with it. Don’t avoid it or try to fix it. Sit with it. Breathe into it. Feel it but don’t make it go away. Maybe this hard moment is necessary on the journey to something great.
In the words of Joe Dispenza, “What you resist persists.”
So, rise above it next time. Form a new habit by reacting to that thing differently, in a more regulated way.
Next time you have a challenge, don’t give it power by demonizing it, see it as a necessary stepping stone on the way to greatness. Trust. Detach from the story you would normally give to that challenge.
No amount of worry, fixation, planning, or control can account for every single outcome that could happen in the future. Embrace the uncertainty, embrace the chance for unexpected opportunities, and you might be greeted with a life even greater than you were imagining.
As one of my mentors says about the outcome, “It’s none of our darn business.”
Everything is unfolding exactly how it is supposed to. (Even if you don’t like it.)
So, pick a moment that doesn’t feel great and see if you can use the activity I gave you above to choose differently. It does get easier, I promise. Then go to bed today with the comfort of knowing you don’t have to control everything because life is going to happen anyways.
Traci xx