Control freaks listen up. As much as you love being in control and fee ling like you are the ring master, it's not always great to be in control. You already know that control takes great effort that doesn't always come with pleasing results. Wouldn't you want to know what it's like to let go of control just once? That just made you feel really uncomfortable didn't it. To think that letting go of control is actually something you should consider because it could be quite enjoyable. Well it is and let me explain to you why.
1. Free up some time.
Some time you could be enjoying with yourself or with friends and family. When you stop trying to control events, people and things, suddenly there are more hours in the day and week for you. These are the hours you once lost because you were desperately trying to control everything else around you except your own life. Now you will have time for you. It won't be easy but it will certainly be worth it. You may even discover you have more time to delve into your passion. Maybe you like to paint or draw or play a musical instrument but haven't had the time. Well now you will. You might even find out you are better than you thought.
2. Make new friends.
Who doesn't want more friends? But not just any friends. The fun, caring and helpful kind. The ones who care about you and respect you and actually want to chip in some of their time to help you with things so you have more time for other things. Like freedom and happiness. People genuinely like helping others. You'd be surprised to find some people who like to help and give from their heart too. Let people help you, meet new folks and make new friends.
3. You'll sleep better.
Really. You know you often lay awake at night trying to figure out what went wrong with that plan when you had everything in place perfectly. It's not always up to you to plan things. As soon as you let go of that, your sleepless nights will be significantly reduced. Try delegating a job or two to other people so you don't have to worry about the whole show. Delegating is ok. Trust.
4. And speaking of trust. You will be able to learn how to trust better.
The reason why most people are control freaks is because they don't trust anyone to do the job (or something) the right way so they just do it themselves. You have to realize there are people everywhere who are perfectly capable of doing great things. Give someone a chance to prove themselves, and prove to you, that trusting is ok to do.
5. Let someone else shine.
You like to be in control for a lot of reasons but one of them is because you like people to praise you, you seek recognition and always are looking for that pat on the back. Why not let someone else have the opportunity to feel like this too? I mean, really, no sense in being in control and selfish too. There are many other people who are seeking the opportunity to shine. Pass it on. What's going to happen then is that you will feel so good about yourself as you watch your friend/co-worker/family member shine, smile and hear songs of praise. It really is just going to warm your heart. Try it and see.
6. Less stress.
Which means less sleepless nights and less blood pressure medication and less wine at night. The list really does go on but you get the idea. The more you pass on control and the more things you give up control of, the more you will see how relaxed you will be. I'll warn you though, at first you may feel a little agitated because you don't have control. Find something to do to take your mind off of things. Go for a walk, listen to music, go see a funny movie, and just go do something fun for you.
It's going to be hard for you to give up control when that's all you've known for so long. You've also known stress, anxiety, frustration and agitation for a long time too. Most people who need to be in control often end up like this because they lack control in their own lives and desperately seek out to control something else or someone else. The sooner you recognize this, the sooner you can get to the root of the problem and slow but sure, day by day, start giving up control of other things and start taking control of your own life. Let's face it, life is beautiful and meant to enjoy, not be stressed about.