I surrender. A difficult thing to say and do at times (even when you are just saying it to yourself). It becomes more difficult when you have your heart set on a specific outcome or output. How you define surrender impacts the steps you take. So, what does surrender mean to you?
In general, surrendering is often associated with giving up or quitting. But surrendering doesn’t necessarily have to mean “I give up” or “I quit” all the time. It could simply mean “I set it free”, to allow it to flow freely; which is different from quitting and giving up. Setting free consist of two things for me:
- Release of my will
- Having peace about the release
I can’t have one without the other; else I know I haven’t fully set it free.
Release of my will
First, don’t confuse release of my will with release of my desire. I may still desire for the thing I want to happen to come to fruition. But, setting it free is having the flexibility and openness to adapt a new way of thinking about it or perceiving how it could happen.
Sometimes you get stuck trying to make things happen exactly the way you planned it to go. However, what you planned may not be the only way nor the best way. When things don’t go as planned, be flexible to restart or revise the plan from where you are instead of getting stuck in frustration and irritation about what didn’t go as planned…release it and regroup. Give the thing you want to happen the flexibility to happen outside of the constraints you placed upon it.
On the other hand, release of my will can also mean, if it doesn’t come to fruition at all, I understand there is a good reason for it not occurring. Could it be that I am not ready for it, or it’s not ready for me yet?
Having peace about the release
One way I know I am headed in the right direction is when I have a peace of mind about the outcome after I decide to set it free. When I have genuine peace, I no longer try to manipulate or control the result. If it continues to stay on my mind and wear me down, I know I haven’t fully released it yet or let go of wanting things to happen in my way and my timing.