Find Strength When You Surrender

What does it mean to surrender? Is it giving up? give up or that you give up the struggle, stop fighting, forcing and pushing against all odds? Does it mean that you are weak or actually shows your strength ?

How do you know when its time to stop fighting the inevitability of an end and surrender or keep pushing hoping things will change? Finding that will help you find your strength in surrender.

Having faith in yourself and your own ability and having faith in a power greater than you, whether you call it God, the universe, a higher power, or your higher self will offer you strength.

Knowing that you have done all you can and trusting its time to let go are learned from experience and also by tuning into an inner wisdom – your intuition. It’s a sign of strength to surrender and let go of something that is not serving your highest good, or cannot continue the way that it is.

Letting go of control and allowing something greater than you to come in – that is surrender, strength and peace.

Here’s a beautiful example of surrender from the movie, “The African Queen” starring Katherine Hepburn as Rose Sayer, and Humphrey Bogart as Charlie Allnut. After many insurmountable odds of pushing through, having faith, using all their strength, determination and commitment, they realize they have reached the end.

The African Queen, the boat, is stuck deeply in mud, and there is no hope. There is no more that Charlie can do, and he knows it. He is spent. He has nothing left in him. Rosie attempts to encourage him, offer him hope, to which he replies, “ Rosie, you know it’s over, don’t you?”

“Yes, Charlie, I know.”

Then Rose prays. She did not pray for help to save them in this mess or fix the situation, but for mercy at the gates of heaven. She asked that they be greeted in the afterlife with love and forgiveness for their mistakes and recognition for doing all that they could.

She lay next to Charlie and slept peacefully, knowing they had done all that they could do. She did not berate herself for failing. She did not blame Charlie for giving up. She did not direct anger at God for letting her down. Rose surrendered to the situation with peace and gratitude for coming as far as they had – for saying “yes” to her mission.

In life and in our business, we often see our failures, and neglect to see the value in what we have done. Yet successful and happy people know the power of surrender and recognize when its time to lie down in peace knowing they’ve gone as far as they can in a particular venture. They don’t berate themselves or wallow in pity and anger at failing. They wake up and begin again. Each day is a new opportunity to reach new heights, commit to a mission and recalibrate their vision when necessary.

Surrender is not giving up. It is entering a state of grace, acceptance and gratitude for having come this far, and allowing God or spirit to assist you in continuing on this path or directing you toward another.

So what happened in the movie? While Charlie and Rose slept, the rains came down hard and heavy, lifting their boat out of the mud and into the river. They had surrendered, but they had not given up.

Of course, it’s only a movie and anything can happen in a movie. Yet the same is true for life – anything is possible if you allow it to be so.

So where in your life or business can you surrender to allow for the guidance, flow and support of the universe to direct you toward a path of success?

Where can you let go of resentment, blame, anger, and disappointment to feel peace and gratitude for how far you have come, not to give up but to surrender to the guidance and support for your next steps?