It’s been a great day full of positivity in Group.  I felt good about the lessons we were learning.  And it’s funny to me that I’m just now learning these lessons.  But, hey they’re important.  We even went for a walk around campus today to enhance our senses and build on calming techniques that we’ll probably talk about in a different post.

Let’s start today off with the quote I have written in my journal:
“If Plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has twenty five more letters”.

I hope that made you smile, as it did me.  And I hope that you can find meaning and hope in that, as I did.

Don’t Be Afraid to Lose Control

I giggled at this lesson, as we began to learn to let go of control, or the idea of control.  But, in reality – there are so, so many things out of our hands and that we have absolutely no control over whatsoever.

You could define control as the power to influence and/or direct peoples’ behaviors or the course of events.  That would be a technical definition of the word.  But, isn’t it more than that?

Control is something that you can have OVER people and/or events.  It gives you a sense of entitlement and empowerment.  It’s something that a lot of us have trouble either gaining or letting go of.  My guess is that most of us have more trouble letting go of it.

I can give you the example of house cleaning.  You may prefer to do things as I do, clean the room from top to bottom and do the floors last.  In my head that’s where all of the dust and dirt lands as I’m cleaning above, so logically I would do it in that order.  However, if John cleans the room, he may vacuum and then pick up the area and/or dust.  It may not make sense to us.  But, just because he did it differently, that doesn’t mean he is wrong.  That doesn’t mean that MY way is the ONLY way to do something.  And man, it will eat at me, but you know what?  I’m going to keep my mouth shut because I am grateful for the help and because I don’t want to end up having to do it myself.

So, now let’s move on to something that I am all too familiar with.  They call it “catastrophizing”.  In essence, it’s an irrational thought that a lot of us will have where we actually believe something is much worse than it is in reality.  I catch myself doing this often.  Blowing things out of proportion is like second nature to me, when it comes to negative events or comments in relation to myself.  For instance, I will say “Oh my God, the house is such a disaster.”  When in reality it’s just a few things that need to be picked up and placed where they belong.  But, all I could see was the negative blown way out of proportion.  And yes…I’m laughing at myself right this instant.  Because this is so me.  Catastrophizing though only adds fuel to the fire, which just adds to the anxiety that we already have in our lives.  So, this is something I have to work on.  This is something that I can improve on and will.  Because my sanity depends on it.

You may not know this.  I didn’t know this.  But, the Serenity Prayer is often used to help people who catastrophize things.  And if this is you, and you have that kind of Faith – maybe it would help you, too!  Even if you don’t have that kind of Faith, the words make perfect sense and you may still find comfort in them.

That only leaves me with fear.  Fear is nothing but an anxious feeling caused by our anticipation of some imagined event or experience.  And get this – the event or experience will most likely NOT EVEN OCCUR.  Remember that when you’re afraid.  Sure, there are instances where it will be in direct reaction to something…that’s not the kind of fear that I’m talking about though.  The kind of fear I’m talking about is something like the fear of change.

And so we’ve come full circle now, when I say – in order to break free from fear, we have to then let go of control.

As I type this out, it sounds so much deeper than it actually is.  But, it’s still true.  And quite frankly, easy to do once you make the decision to do it.  That’s the trick though; you have to want to do it.  I don’t know about you, but as soon as that meant some of my anxiety would go away, I was on board with making that decision.  I don’t need more anxiety than I already have!

So, here are some ways that I have learned to let go of the control.

1. Change your mindset.  This is going to take practice and time.  If you’ve made the decision to change, you’ll be more than willing to make time to practice it.  But, this means you will have to stop being a perfectionist and understand that we all make ‘mistakes’.  I have learned to become more comfortable with letting things go a bit and allowing someone else to take the wheel for me and drive.  It might be uncomfortable at first, but in the end, it sure does take some of the load off.
2. Work on Yourself.  Take a good hard look at yourself in the mirror.  What do you see?  I see a hot mess when I look into mine.  But, that’s not going to get me anywhere good.  So, the idea here is to create a sense of self-worth and to grow your self-esteem.  If you have more confidence, you’ll be more certain of your decisions and also put that confidence into others.
3. Delegate Tasks.  Now this isn’t saying that you need to put your entire workload onto the next person.  But, it is saying that it is okay for you to ask for help from time to time; or even allow someone to assist you if they’ve offered.  Let’s face it, the weight of the world is heavy at times and our to-do lists can get mighty lengthy.  If you have children, a spouse or partner…anyone, don’t be afraid to assign them duties or items to check off that to-do list!  I have a hard time asking for help.  But, I’m learning that swallowing my pride and allowing for the assistance is a weight lifted off of my shoulders.  Sometimes, things even get done more quickly than if I would have taken them all on myself!

Let’s not be afraid of change.  I know I can’t afford to fear it.  I need it in my life…and a lot of it.  But, let that change move you in the right direction.  It should be a positive direction with your end goal in mind.  I’m not afraid anymore.  No fear.  And I’m certainly no longer afraid of change.  I’ve seen the difference the tiniest of changes can make in my life.  I’ve finally looked that monster in the eyes and told it I’m the one in charge now!

Irrational Thoughts That Cause Stress

By catastrophizing and thinking irrationally, we only cause ourselves more stress in the end.  I’m guilty of being irrational in highly emotional situations.  Hell, I’ll even go as far to say I can be irrational when I’m being stubborn.  If any of the following thoughts pop up in your head, consider that you may not be thinking clearly:

• It is essential to be loved/liked by everyone all of the time.
• I can’t stand for anyone to be angry with me or to dislike me.
• I must always be competent.
• Making a mistake is terrible!
• Every problem has a perfect solution.
• I can’t change the way I am/think/feel.
• I must not show weakness or cry.
• Strong people do not ask for help.
• Everything is within my control.
• Everyone should see things the way that I do.
• I am always right.
• People should do what I want because they love me.
• The world ought to be fair.

In most cases, these are all unrealistic expectations.  I know first hand that it was not easy for me to ask for the help that I am now receiving.  And I know that it takes a damned strong person to seek help when they need it.  Don’t let pride get in your way.  Ever.  Emotions are nothing to be ashamed of, you are not always right, and mistakes do happen…we are human after all.

By relinquishing some control and thinking more clearly, you and I will both be leading lives that are at the very least, slightly less stressful.