Stop trying to control everything

“How’s my hair today? “, “What about this grease on my shirt?”, “What will people think if they see I have a spot on my pants?”, “What about my pimple?”, “What about this?”, “What about that?”

Sounds familiar? This is the internal dialogue of most of us. For many, this tape runs every single day non-stop on repeat. It’s insanity.

Let go. Stop trying to micromanage every little thing.

We feel like we’re hanging on to a cliff that if we let go, we die. We don’t. It’s scary to let go of all that control, but its the only way to get peace of mind.

We need to try to control less and relax more - not to relax in its conventional sense as in taking a nap (although it’s connected) but to mute the internal dialogue. Just mute it, don’t worry, you’re not going to miss anything important. It’s the same bullshit anyway, and we’ve all heard it a thousand times.

The problem with thoughts is that they breed more thoughts. If you grab onto one and start thinking about it, it suddenly generates more of them - you try to analyze these, which in turn generate even more thoughts and so on. It’s like a Hydra on steroids.

Next time you walk on the street, be present. Let in all the sounds, smells, and other sensory experiences. Touch different surfaces. Don’t think, just experience. Try it and then ask yourself if you missed out on anything.

What you’ll realize is the exact opposite. You’ll be highly conscious and alert. You’re not just existing - you’re living. It feels as if you let go of a dead weight you’ve been dragging with you.

KRISTJAN