Ever found yourself in a desperate tug of war with the universe? Sometimes you may feel like the more you try to control the outcomes in your life, the more life wriggles through your hands with an unpredictable ebb and flow.

I, Tim Han, have been there too. Battling the world, determined to tame the lion only to discover that I was fighting an unending battle. It was suffocating, to say the least. One day, as I sat exhausted from my attempts to dictate my destiny, I realised a powerful truth. The powerful reality of letting go of the death grip I had on life and accepting the impermanence and inevitability of change, irrespective of my control on the steering wheel.

From that moment, it was like I had stumbled upon an oasis amidst a barren dessert. There wasn’t an immediate reversal of tough times or magic abundance that filled my life. But there was this newfound inner peace that gracefully tiptoed in my being, replacing the tension and stress with tranquility.

However, hold on. Nobody becomes a zen master overnight, I certainly didn’t. It was more of a journey than an instantaneous event, the journey to let go, which transformed my life. And it can transform yours too. Here’s a secret, it is only in releasing the iron-clad grip on life, we allow the beautiful vulnerability of existence to take its natural course. The beauty of resilience shines through when you take life, not as a sequence controlled by you, but as a melodious symphony, where every note contributes to the magnificent music.

Life, my friend, isn’t about asserting control, it's about mastering the art of surrender. I know it sounds contrary to every success mantra you have heard. Sure, they all insist on seizing control, asserting authority. Now, I’m not telling you to become a human automaton, surrendering to the tides of life without making a personal effort.

But consider this, remember the last time you rerouted your GPS on a spontaneous road trip and discovered an unexplored corner of Mother Earth? The thrill of letting go! It's the same with life. When we let go of our assumed control and trust the journey, we stumble upon parts of ourselves we never knew about, and that, my friend, is a promising journey of development and growth.

The irony? We often fear that letting go would make us weak or result in chaos. But I found strength in my surrender. I found that side of me, that Success Insider within me, which transformed my perspective.

You might be sceptical, “How do I start, Tim? How to let go and surrender?” It starts today, with self-awareness. Every morning remind yourself, “I am not in control of everything and that's okay.” When you felt that unnecessary stress and tension creeping up your spine, take deep breaths, acknowledge that certain things that happen, happen on their own accord without your influence. Break the illusion of control, free yourself from this figment of your imagination that holds you back.

Visualising is another exercise that helped me. Every night before sleep, I would visualise the outcome, feeling, or state I desired. I would see it happening and then let go off it in my mind with a deep breath as if I had already achieved it. It truly works to better your mental well-being.

Take it from me, who has walked this beautiful path of surrender, it offers strength instead of weakness, elation in place of suffering, growth rather than stagnation. Begin today, remind yourself that you are a beautiful, imperfect human who is on a life journey, just like others. Acknowledge that not all things can be controlled, but let this fact not make you relinquish dreams or defy taking actions for betterment. Let it instead channel a wholesome perspective of self-development and growth in you.

In the journey of life, one has to gain control only by losing it. A paradox, you may think so now. But once you tread down this path, you would discover the gem of wisdom this paradox holds. As Lao Tzu beautifully quotes, “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.”

Give life a chance to surprise you, break free from the shackles of the need for control. My dears, life, in all its imperfections and lack of control, is still beautiful. And when we learn to dance with the uncertainties, we truly live.