The Beauty in Letting Go

I am a control freak. There is really no other way to say it nor no easier way to phrase it. I just always feel the need to control things.

You can imagine then, how well I do on airplanes. Flying itself doesn't scare me. I recognize that I have a better chance of dying in a car crash on the way to the airport than I do in the actual plane. But boy, does being 32,000 feet up in the air in a big metal box as a passenger scare the living heck out of me. And here is why - I have absolutely no control over anything happening while on that plane other than whether to order coffee or a glass of wine.

So, as I sit on a plane right now, on my way home from the 3rd annual Building Champions Experience, I have to wonder why it is I am such a control freak to begin with. So I figured I would reflect about my control freak tendencies and see what I come up with.

Why I am a control freak could come from many different avenues. It could come from childhood and the fact that I was the youngest child in a family of three. Growing up with a terminally ill sister that had immediate and constant needs for as long as I can remember up until her death in 1988 could explain a lot.

It could come from the fact that I struggle with insecurity and continually try to be better while feeling like I will never be good enough.

It may simply be the fact that no one I know ever wants to die in a fiery plane crash.

Either way, issues of control tend to hang over many people I know. Do you ever feel helpless or frustrated in a situation where you have no control over the outcome?

So you can imagine how surprised I was when just 4 short days earlier, on my way to the Building Champions Experience, I looked out the window at the most beautiful scene I have ever seen out of an airplane window and at once felt peace at 32,000 feet. The clouds had formed in the shape of a million cotton balls lined up to shield the view of the ground from me. The mountains near San Francisco rose above the clouds and seemed to glorify in their presence so high up. The blue sky above was calling out its song of beauty, bragging as if it had never been this beautiful. I was in awe. It was as if I had finally relaxed around the control issue and felt no need to ever have again. There was - at that moment - beauty in letting go. It was, quite possibly, one of the most amazing moments I have ever experienced. Like if I had died at the moment, I would have died completely satisfied.

What is it you need to let go of today that stops you from living the life you truly deserve? I promise you - if you do let go you'll be happier than you ever have.