Warning: Surrender Ahead

When is the email going to come? I expected a response weeks ago!

Tom Petty is right. The waiting is the hardest part. 

In between obsessively checking my inbox, I make all sorts of plans dependent on a positive reply. I really think it’s gonna happen. I mean, how could it not? All signs point to Yes.

Although I tried not to, I have put all my eggs in this basket. I’m not focusing much elsewhere or taking many steps to prompt other opportunities. Nope. I’m hyper focused on this one.

And therein lies the problem.

When you have this sort of tunnel vision, you miss all the gifts and possibilities that are hanging out in the periphery. Often what’s floating around out there is much better than the single brass ring you’re running toward.

You’ve gotta surrender. Ugh. That word. “Surrender.” Always makes me roll my eyes. Mostly because I suck at it.

But I also see the power in it. There’s a real peace that comes with surrendering (after the struggle of getting there). I mean, once you’ve done all you can, what else is there to do? Besides worry and stress, that is.

When I catch myself ruminating, I would silently say, “I surrender.” It became a mantra of sorts.

“What if the answer is no?”

“I surrender.”

“What if it’s yes and I regret agreeing to it?”

“I surrender.”

“What if I never hear back and I’m left hanging?”

“I surrender.”

As the weeks tick by waiting for the email, my attachment to the outcome becomes weaker and weaker. It feels good to not be held captive by the situation anymore. Well, I was really being held captive by me.

The freer I feel, the more opportunities I stumble across. The more open and receptive I become to bigger and better things. And, to be honest, the more pleasant I am to be around.

When you surrender, you allow space for the Universe to work its magic. You demonstrate a spiritual maturity that shows you’re ready for something even better. Pretty cool, right?

Whether you’re hoping your date calls you, you’re offered the job, you land the speaking gig, or your friend pays you back the money she borrowed, once you know you’ve done all you can, practice the mantra, “I surrender.”

Repeat it over and over during your meditation, any time you find your thoughts drifting (and sticking) to the situation, or when you feel tense or stressed.

When you let that shit go, you invite in peace.

Oh, I finally got the email. It was a “no”. But guess what? Something bigger and better had already come along. More on that later.

Until next week, keep taking those steps to Live Out Loud!

P.S. (If you’re feeling a little frisky, in addition to using the “I surrender” mantra, you can add in the F#@k That meditation. It includes explicit language, obvi.)