Letting go

Willingly letting go of things that are out of your control, is truly an art.

It has taken me a long time to realise that all my stress and worry won't actually alter the final result of any situation.

I have wasted so much precious time pondering the worst of outcomes but at the end of the day what will be, will be.

I cannot control the actions of others or acts of nature, so why should I let the thought of what might be, get the best of me?

It's not easy to stop anxiety in it's tracks, I know that. But sometimes when I'm repeatedly worrying to the point of panic attacks over things that are far beyond my power, I calm myself by asking; what can I do about this? Will anything I do change this? Is this in my control? And if the answer is 'No'. I try to breathe, put the problem at the back of my mind and let the universe decide.

It can be very satisfying and self empowering, to know that while I may not be able to control the world around me, or the people around me, I can control myself. I can control how I act, how I react and how I feel about everything.

I'm finding with this new mindset that I have been working on, any problem I have, is only as big as I let it be.

Obviously anxiety attacks are out of my control in the moment and my anxiety can definitely still get the better of me. I am now able to move forward alot faster, once I am able to rationalise with myself and sort my thoughts.

I still can't always rationalise with myself, I'm not going to lie and say that I'm emotionally mature enough to never end up in hystterics in particular situations. That would be a lie. But I have pleasantly surprised myself from time to time.

The biggest step I have taken forward in the process is; realising that I can't control everything. I can't control how others behave. I can't control how others make me feel or how others feel. I can't choose what others do. I can't control the environment or the weather. I can't control a lump growing inside of me. I can't control anything that isn't within my own conciousness and I'm becoming more comfortable with the fact that I just can't change these things.

It's no easy feat to be comfortable being out of control, for anyone, I'd imagine. But the reality is, no one can control or change anything outside of themselves. All the stress and panic in the world won't control anything outside of ourselves. On some level, stepping back, letting go and trusting that things will work out in the end, becomes the only rational option that anyone has.

And more often than not, things aren't as bad as we have imagined they could be.

I don't want to waste my time, energy and emotion on situations that I cannot change any longer. If it's out of my hands, it's with the universe and I'm going to trust that it will work out in the end.