The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, stress and hard work. I have been physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. Along with it, I have been obsessing over many details and making myself crazy. The other day I lay down on the couch, and I just surrendered, and suddenly I felt better. That one small act of letting go of all of it, not caring about the outcomes and just giving up, set me free.

Detail Oriented is Not Always a Good Thing

I admit it; I am an intense person. It’s true; I don’t do anything halfway. In business and creatively, it works pretty well but as far as regular life goes, not so much. My strong focus on details causes my brain to go into overload, and sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel. My mind races with thoughts, and I can’t stop them. It is not a pleasant place to be. It feels like someone else is running my brain and I can’t get control back.

Scary Thoughts

Anyone who suffers from anxiety will understand scary thoughts. When you are stressed, they come from nowhere and everywhere and shoot out insane ideas that are completely illogical, but if you are an obsessive, anxiety-focused person, you believe every single one of them. It’s like being on a creepy merry-go-round going faster and faster, and you want to get off, but you don’t know how. Finally, you either get distracted by something else, or you get so exhausted from the fearful thoughts, you surrender. Magically when you do this, it releases you and you are no longer at their mercy.

That day on the couch, I could feel the relief flow through my poor mind and body that had been running on high for so long. When I gave up and just said “ok, I surrender,” I felt immediately better.

Surrender Does Not Mean You Lost; it is a Choice of Faith

Along with being intense, I am also a controlling person. I want control over every aspect of my life and every detail, and when I feel like I am not in control, I get anxious and angry. As with many of us, I have to get to the point of total exhaustion before I finally surrender that control and instead reach for faith. When I give up on trying to be the controller of the universe, everything starts to fall into place.

I am a proud person, and surrendering is not easy for me. I want to stand tall and always be the strong one. The problem is sometimes life hits me with stuff that is hard, and I do need to surrender completely to faith and my higher power who knows much better than I how to get what I want. Maybe it won’t be on my timeline or in exactly the way I mapped out, but it will be better than I could have imagined.

Give Up and Turn to Faith Instead

So when you are struggling, even if it is all inside your head, try something different, just let go. Stop worrying about it for a few minutes and see how great that relief feels. Turn away from control and fear and instead choose faith. Surrender can set you free!