One day I packed up my things at the end of a long day of work to head home. I was halfway out my office building when I realized I left my access badge at my desk. Frantic because it was after 5 pm I walked briskly back to my desk. I’m super worried that I won’t be able to get back in if no one is around. I get to the glass door and see my colleague sitting at her desk. I sigh a sigh of relief. I can get in! I knock on the door for her to let me in. She smiles and says, “It’s open.”
Embarrassing! I still feel embarrassed about this.
I was so worried and consumed with the thought that I left my access badge at my desk it hadn’t even occurred to me that I don’t need the badge to open that particular door. I was stressed and worried, knocking and waiting outside a door that was open all along. All I had to do was walk through it! I’ve been stuck outside some office doors before due to leaving behind my badge. That’s what ignited my fear and a worry. Especially after 5 pm.
Sometimes our minds play tricks on us. We get so boggled down in distractions and fears we lose sight of what’s real. We forget to breathe and in my case to think. We’re waiting on doors to open that are already open. We’re trying to provide a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist. We’re weird like that.
Why? Because we spend our whole lives worried about what could happen. What happened last time. What we don’t want to happen. What are we going to do if it happens? This natural tendency to be worried and dis-shoveled over everything is costing us a lot. It’s costing us clarity, peace of mind, and the ability to live our highest vision. We’re focused on the wrong stuff.
And for what reason? Have you ever not been okay? When life happens don’t you always find a way to preserve? Maybe not the way you intended. Maybe not the way you wanted. But you survived. You continue to survive, over and over again.
If the door to the office had been locked that evening what would have happened? I would have just went to the front desk and asked for a temporary badge to get back inside. No big deal, right? Life wouldn’t have ended. I wouldn’t have been stuck at work. Worse case scenario I would have had to pay to leave the parking garage since my access badge also allows me to leave the garage. So, I would have been out about $20. Still no big deal. I would have survived.
Why worry about things that are no big deal?
I think a part of it is that we have this idea of how things are supposed to go. There’s a “right” way and a “wrong” way for life to unfold. We haven’t learned to surrender. We still believe that we’re in control 100%, but we’re not. And when life shows up to let us know that we’re not in control we get a little frantic. We start thinking about what we need to do to regain control. We go knocking on doors that are already opened.
A frantic, worried brain is a messy, noisy, I can’t think type of brain. A surrendered brain is a clear brain. Surrendering is a way to gain clarity. If I wasn’t so worried about what I was going to do if nobody was there, maybe I would have realized I didn’t need anyone to be there. Maybe a clear, sound mind would have realized I walk through that door at least once a day everyday without a badge.
The next time you’re getting antsy and fidgety worried about something, try surrendering. Just say, “I surrender all.” Or surrender whatever specific thing that is clogging your mind and stealing your clarity.
“I surrender my need to be home by 6.”
“I surrender my need for life to unfold the exact way I imagined.”
“I surrender my need to be in control.”
Learn to surrender and watch your peace of mind increase, clarity abound, and your highest visions to come true.