This week’s question from our portal “Ask Us Anything” comes from Julie.
You talked about needing to let go of control and trust the process. But I’m a business owner—I have to control things. I have employees, I have clients, I have obligations. How do I let go of control and still run a business effectively? It seems like those two things are in direct conflict.
You’re confusing control with responsibility. Being responsible doesn’t mean controlling every outcome. It means being in charge of your response to every outcome.
Here’s what most people do: they try to control everything because they’re afraid. They’re afraid something will go wrong. They’re afraid they’ll fail. They’re afraid they’ll lose money or lose face or lose whatever.
But the more you try to control, the more resistance you create. And the more resistance you create, the harder everything becomes.
Here’s what letting go actually means: it means you do your part, and then you trust the law to do its part. You don’t control the law. You work with the law.
In business, your job is to make decisions, take action, lead your team, and serve your clients. That’s your part. But you cannot control whether a client says yes or no. You cannot control whether an employee quits. You cannot control market conditions.
What you can control is your response to all of those things. And when you stop trying to control what you can’t control and start focusing on what you can control—which is your thinking, your decisions, your actions—everything gets easier.
Letting go of control doesn’t mean being passive. It means being powerful in the right areas and relaxed about the rest.
Most people are tense about everything. And that tension creates resistance that blocks the very thing they’re trying to create.
So yes, run your business. Make decisions. Take action. But stop trying to control outcomes that are governed by universal law. Do your part, trust the process, and get out of the way.
