Change your thoughts, change your life...

​It’s no secret I am an over-thinker. I tend to worry and wonder about the future and what’s going to happen. 

And I go through stages... where I let go and let God have control. And where I try so hard to hang on and control everything. 

It’s no big surprise, then, when I’m massively stressed out is when I’m hanging on by my fingertips trying to be in total control. When, instead of enjoying the journey, I’m worrying and wondering and trying to force things to happen the way I want them to go. 

I’ve gotten better as I’ve gotten older... and as I’ve been put in situation after situation where I’ve HAD to let go. 

But it’s still hard. And no matter how hard I try, life still happens and it can be overwhelming. But I find I’m more stressed when I have negative thoughts about what’s happening...when I let my thoughts control how I feel. 

My big goal for 2021 is to truly enjoy the journey. To not get so hung up on the worrying and the wondering and to trust God and the process. To trust that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. 

And I know it isn’t easy, by any means. We all want to know what’s going to happen in our lives and when we’re going to get what we want. But by worrying and wondering, we’re missing out on our current life. It just passes us by.  

I don’t want to let that happen anymore. I want to truly live in the moment. Relish every moment as I’m in it. The good, bad, and ugly. Because I know it all leads me exactly where I’m supposed to be.... it always has and it always will. 

So I know you’re probably wondering, “Okay Whitney, that’s great. You’ve learned to let go, but HOW? What do I do to let go of this need to be in control?” 

It’s a process. I won’t lie to you. But some of the ways I’ve used include praying... lots and lots of praying and asking God to take away my anxieties and worries. Journaling helps A TON too, because it gets it out of my head and seeing it in writing often helps me to see what I’m doing. Aka, I can see that I’m overthinking and can let go of whatever it is because now it’s out in the universe! 

Talking to close friends/confidants and family helps too. Not just anyone, but people I trust and know won’t judge how I’m feeling and can help me rationalize what I’m thinking. Sometimes it takes an outside party to help you realize that a) how you’re feeling isn’t crazy, and b) you’re headed in the right direction with your anticipated response... or conversely, that maybe you should reconsider your response. 

I’ve also used my morning gratitude journal and daily intentions to help me see how much good I have in my life. To truly see God’s influence in my life. It helps so much starting my day being grateful. And I do my journaling before I do anything else... before social media, before emails, even before breakfast. 

Nick and I have also started reading the Bible together. Really diving into our spirituality and growing and trusting that God always has our backs. When we look at our lives, we see His influence and how, no matter what, He’s always provided for us. He always shows up. And that consistency helps me to be okay letting go. 

Do you have some tried and true methods for learning to let go of control? If so, I’d love to hear them in the comments. We all have things that work differently for us, so the more we can know, the better! 

I hope you all have a beautiful last week of 2020! Let’s shake this year off and head into 2021 with our heads held high and positive thoughts! It may look different as we head into the new year, but we can still have goals and aspirations we set for ourselves. 

Love you all! 

With love and wellness, 
Whitney