Surrender!

Alexis Rae Baker

Dear Lexis,

I just had a really hard week. Everything seemed to go wrong. I swear, whatever could have happened, did and now I find myself feeling drained, upset, and hopeless. What would you suggest someone in my situation do?

Thanks,

          ~ Lost

Dear Lost,

I understand what you’re going through; I’ve certainly had my fair share of weeks where the universe seemed to be screaming at me for some reason. It’s hard, especially if you’re trying to accomplish something at the time.

My husband and I decided to go on vacation recently, but the second we did, the car started acting up. So, we put it in the shop in hopes that everything would be working by the time we left. And while the shop did fix it, most of it anyway, it turns out there were more issues that we weren’t even aware of. As we decided to head south, AC is vital, but we discovered too late that ours wasn’t. As a pregnant woman, where overheating really isn’t recommended, this lack of regulated temperature wound up giving me heat exhaustion and a fairly high temperature. It felt like the universe was telling us to just stop and reevaluate, however the journey was already underway and to get back would still require days traveling in the roasting car. What options do you have but to keep pushing?

I obviously decided to take some time to recover, and we discussed some potential solutions, but it wasn’t until I took some time to meditate and surrender my struggle that I finally found relief.

This is what I recommend for you as well.

The process of surrendering is just like taking a walk, or focusing your attention elsewhere. You decide to release your focus on what’s going wrong so that your subconscious can start to problem solve for you. There’s a lot of information you know but aren’t aware of and by letting this powerful part of your brain chew on the problem uninterrupted, your creative mind starts throwing out potential options at an impressive rate.

I’m a big supporter of meditation, it’s amazing what all can be accomplished through such practice, but it’s the act of raising your hands and saying to the universe “I don’t know what to do right now and I need some help” that really gets the ball moving in the right direction. And while you may not like the idea of giving up, you might be surprised at how quickly solutions start to appear once you do.

You see, you’re not actually giving up; you’re just giving up your conscious focus on the problem. The desire for a solution still remains within you, and that’s enough.

How do you go about surrendering your struggle? There are four statements I’ve found particularly useful when used in succession.

1. I’m done fighting
2. I offer this up
3. I ask for aid and guidance
4. Thank you

It may not seem like much, but these four statements can drastically alter your mood in any given moment. By letting go, you allow your body to lighten, your mind to expand, and your creativity to soar. This is a pretty killer combo when it comes to problem solving.

Give yourself a break and surrender; you’ll be glad you did.

Best of luck,

          ~ Lexis

Alexis Baker writes from her home in Olympia.  Write to her at Lexis@theJOLTnews.com