A Mind-Blowing Experiment That Will Transform Your Day
The power of surrender.
Do you enjoy being in control?
Do you feel safe having a to-do list for the day?
We, humans, adore control. We like to know what will happen, how it will happen and when it will take place.
Yet, we fail to realize that by trying to control everything or expecting a specific outcome we turn our lives into hell.
We are taught that being goal-oriented is a good thing. It makes us productive. It keeps us organized. It looks attractive on the CV.
I used to be a control freak with clear aims to achieve. It all changed when meditation became my daily practice.
Meditation is hardly about any goal. There is no time frame for how long you should practice it. Meditation is not about getting somewhere. If anything, meditation is about surrender and acceptance.
Meditation is about observing the mind, not fighting it or trying to improve your thoughts.
Goals are hardly about acceptance. The nature of any goal is to improve something.
- Chasing after the next objective can make you feel anxious.
When we become goal-freaks, our state of being is saying, “I am not enough. My life is not enough”. You rarely feel content and at peace. After completing one task, the need for the next goal rises on the horizon.
- Goals can make us miss out on the present.
As we focus on trying things to happen a certain way, we fail to enjoy the present moment. Instead of enjoying where we are today, we keep focusing on what we lack, the steps we still need to take.
- We create goals to feel safe. They give us the illusion of control.
Life taught me that it hardly goes out as planned. As long as I cling to one outcome, not only will I feel frustrated when plans fall through. I will also miss out on other possibilities.
Letting go of control used to make me uncomfortable. But trying to plan and exercise control in all areas of my life made me feel worse.
It is the very reason I started with a one-day experiment.
I surrendered.
I encourage you to do the same. Ditch the control and plans for one day.
Say ‘yes’ to every opportunity Life brings you. Observe your mind. What are your likes and dislikes?
Why do you want to say ‘no’ to that offer? Is it because of personal preferences, prejudice?
I get that you have a picture of what your life should look like in ten years. But there is power far greater than yourself, and it may have a better plan for you than you have ever imagined.
Letting go of control used to make me uncomfortable. But trying to plan and exercise control in all areas of my life made me feel worse.
Start with one day.
Let go of the control and expectation of how your day should run. Instead, control your mind.
Wake up excited about the day, knowing that everything that will happen is perfect and specially designed for your growth.
Accept the weather outside the window. Don’t question, does it have to rain today? Instead, appreciate the water soaking the earth. Listen to the sound of drops falling against your window. Walk in the rain. Feel the water on your skin. Enjoy being alive.
If somebody asks you a favour, but you resist getting out of bed in the morning, say ‘yes’ to the offer. Make it a fun experiment, just for one day. See where Life takes you. Perhaps there is a hidden message in helping that person?
The more the voice inside your head is resistant to doing something new, the better the reason to try it.
Curiosity makes you fall in love with life. The experiment will help you uncover a great deal about yourself.
Observe your reactions to new events. Get to know yourself. The best expertise comes from self-awareness.
Fears rarely reflect reality. We dislike the unfamiliar because our minds make up fake stories about stepping outside the comfort zone. But outside the comfort zone is where the magic happens.
Listen to your intuition. If you resist something out of stubbornness or preferences, it is the perfect ground for the experiment. But when your guts tell you something is off, always follow your intuition.
Intuition feels light. Fear is heavy and paralysing.
What you might expect throughout the experiment:
- you will feel uncomfortable.
- you will feel intimidated.
- your mind will fight it.
- your mind will also feel lighter once you practice staying in the present moment instead of planning every hour of your day.
When you surrender, you trust. When you trust, it means you are already in the mindset of having it all. You already feel complete.
Trusting in the timing of Life is the most precious gift for a stress-free existence.
Let go of controlling Life. Control your mind.
Your new mindset will look like this:
Life always serves me.
I am always where I am supposed to be.
What happened was supposed to happen because it did happen.
There are no wrong turns in life. There are only lessons.
Suddenly, you don’t try to manipulate people and events. You don’t go against the current. You swim with the flow.
Of course, you will feel uncomfortable. But it is the very reason you should do it. Break the habit of the idle mind and do something extraordinary to achieve extraordinary results.
Life always unfolds in the perfect order. Not the way you might have intended. But far better. You might as well enjoy the ride.
You don’t always have to know what awaits around the corner.
When you learn to respond to Life with trust and humility, colours are brighter, people are nicer, and you perceive world through the lens of harmony.
We waste too much energy and potential on planning and worrying about the future. When you surrender to what Life has to offer, your mind has more capacity for happiness.
An unbothered mind is a happy mind.
There’s a lot of beauty in surrendering to the fact that you have no idea what’s going on.
— Zoë Kravitz
Thank you for being here, — Kate