Surrendering is not ceasing to try. People think surrendering means giving up, quitting and moving on to another venture. But this is not true. Surrendering does not mean quitting. Surrendering means doing what you can then trusting in yourself, your work and in the general creative process.
I will write and publish this blog post. I will promote this blog post on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. I will surrender the rest of the process because I trust my skills, network, Don's network and the general creative process. I let the content promote itself organically after giving the post a little nudge. Why? I do what I can then trust.
Trusting Versus Not Trying
Imagine if I lived my life based on the commonly held meaning of surrender. I never could have lived my dreams because I would have stopped trying to live my dreams 10 years ago. Nothing appeared to be coming together. Quitting seemed like the logical option.
But I trusted in myself, my energy and in the creative process. I did what I could, surrendered what I needed to surrender and here I am today. Circling the globe as a pro blogger requires putting in work then surrendering because pros need to trust in self, in their skills and in the blogging proceed to succeed online.
Surrender. Trust. Do what you can do. Release outcomes. Never frame surrendering as quitting because quitting signals either an utter lack of trust in self and process or a decision to move in a different direction. Surrender to do what you love doing through the process of release, trusting and lightening your energetic load.
Not Surrendering Leads to Burn Out and Failure
Imagine me writing and publishing this blog post. But versus 3 minutes of light promotion, I spend 3 hours promoting the blog post in 200 spots. Why? I do not trust in myself, in my writing skills, in the writing process and in Don's network. Not surrendering would result in my burning out, failure and eventual quitting because I would work so long and hard to stay afloat that I'd get sick and tired of blogging.
Presidential Examples
Micro-managers learn this harsh lesson in not surrendering. I remember a former president who worked like a beast for sometimes 16 hour days. He had to do everything, in his mind, at least. This president largely seemed to be perceived as not doing a smashing job. Why? He never learned how to genuinely surrender, to trust in his work and to delegate tasks to other skilled humans, surrendering in the process.
Another president has largely been perceived to have a successful presidency. He worked from 8-4 daily then left the Oval Office to enjoy life. Why? He did what he could, trusted his work and delegated tasks to skilled, trusted associates, surrendering. He did not stop trying. He trusted. Big difference between the two states of mind.
Trust yourself. Trust in your abilities. Trust in skilled friends and associates to handle work you cannot handle. Surrender. Do what you can do and trust in yourself, in the process and in other human beings to master the concept of surrender.