Introduction:
Hi, I’m Max – Personal Development Strategist.
Today’s reading might challenge some deeply ingrained notions, so approach it with wisdom, nuance, and delicacy.
At first glance, power seems synonymous with control—the more control we have over people, situations, or outcomes, the more powerful we feel. But control is an illusion, a fleeting grasp that requires constant vigilance. True power, however, is found in letting go. When you let go, you stop being a puppet to fear, anxiety, or attachment. Where control feels like force, surrender feels like flow.
If this triggers you, good. It means you’re starting to confront an essential truth—true power is not in tightening your grip but in releasing it. Control is rooted in fear, in a lack of trust in life’s natural balance. In today’s reading, we’ll go through three strategies that will help you embrace true power by practicing surrender.
1) See How Little Control You Actually Have
Think about it—what can you actually control? Your heart beats without you asking it to. You can’t control the thoughts that drift into your mind, the traffic on your commute, or the actions of others. The notion that you have any real control over life is a comforting, yet illusory, belief. Life flows with or without your interference, and it always has.
Instead of exerting energy on things you can’t control, find trust in life’s natural order. When you stop clinging to outcomes, the grip of anxiety and fear over the unknown lessens. Control breeds tension—release breeds peace.
In recognizing the limitations of control, you begin to understand that much of life’s flow happens independently of your efforts. When you release the illusion that you must control everything, you begin to trust in life’s natural rhythm. In this trust, there’s strength. In this acceptance, there’s true power. Control feeds anxiety—letting go dissolves it.
2) Become a Modern-Day Taoist
Taoism teaches us to flow with the current of life, rather than fight it. Imagine a surfer trying to control the wave—what would happen? They’d be knocked down, struggling against a force greater than them. Instead, a great surfer becomes one with the wave, moving in sync with it.
This is how you should approach life. You can’t control the circumstances, but you can choose how you respond to them. Trying to dominate the wave of life only leaves you exhausted and resentful. The greatest strength is in being adaptable, not rigid. Like a surfer, learn to ride the unpredictable tides of life rather than drowning in them.
There’s wisdom in flowing, in being at one with what’s beyond our grasp. Resistance only creates struggle, while surrender allows you to engage deeply with life without forcing outcomes. This is where real mastery lies. The wave has always been beyond your control, but your relationship with it determines the quality of your experience.
3) Feel Pulled, Not Pushed
True power comes from being pulled by your intrinsic desires, not pushed by external pressures. Intrinsic motivation, gut feelings, and intuition are more reliable guides than external validation. When you follow your bliss, as Joseph Campbell said, you’re aligning with your natural flow.
Sure, consistency and discipline are important, but if you’re forcing yourself to grind without joy or fulfillment, you’re pushing too hard. There’s a difference between enduring discomfort for growth and enduring discomfort because you’re going against your inner compass. Surrendering to what feels right doesn’t mean slacking—it means following your intuition to your true path.
There’s a subtle but profound distinction here. Control is rigid, trying to bend reality to your will. Surrender is dynamic, like a dance, guiding you towards growth without the need to manipulate the outcome. Your true path is rarely forced—it’s discovered, step by step, through alignment with what pulls you forward.
Conclusion:
People who claim power through control are fragile—dependent on circumstances, constantly fighting life’s currents. Real power comes from surrender, from trusting the flow of life and letting go of attachments that weaken you. True mastery is living in harmony with life’s unpredictability, not in mastering or manipulating it.
If you’re feeling pulled, let’s have a conversation here.
Max – Personal Development Strategist.
