When we can break though our control programming

Surrendering is not the same thing as deserting. 

Accepting our lack of control doesn’t diminish our passion for practicing. Quite the opposite, in fact. Because once we are willing to accept how not in control we actually are, we’re free. 

Once we learn to trust the process and engage with the world without forcing it to bend to our will, we’ve won. 

When my tech startup announced they were doing corporate layoffs years ago, it was scary, sad, confusing and lonely. Especially for our team, since my office was located six hours west on a completely different continent than the rest of the organization. 

We felt like the last dead limb off that tree to fall in the yard. 

Those last three months were awful. Every week another one of our coworkers would be abruptly cut from the team. With very little closure or clarity around the decision. People just started disappearing like autumn leaves. 

But as painful and disillusioning as that transition was, it was also profoundly freeing. Because it was only a matter of time before the rest of us got the chop. 

And so, why torture ourselves over petty dramas and useless arguments? Why waste an entire hour debating whether or not the pantone color of our display ad was brand consistent? Why kill ourselves trying to win the approval of a callous executive team who were about as loyal as a sardine on a taco? 

Better to just focus on what really matters in this moment, which is navigating this transition with as much grace and wisdom as possible. 

From getting our affairs in order to updating our portfolios to handing off our projects to saying goodbye to searching for new job opportunities, this was our work now.

And by accepting what we couldn’t control, namely, our jobs and the company’s direction; we made room for greater ease and efficiency over what we could control, namely, our attitude and our leverage potential. 

Remember, acceptance over what we can’t control creates space for joy with what we can. 

Surrendering the illusion of control sets us free to enjoy what each new day brings. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What if you accepted your adverse condition and let go of all resistance to it?