Sometimes along our journey there comes a time when a choice has to be made about how much effort we are putting into something.  I’m sure you’ve all had the experience of wanting something so badly that you would do just about anything to have it or make it happen. Determination is one of the most important keys for success in any area of your life, but what happens when you try to make something happen because it’s what you want, yet nothing about it is falling into place?

Maybe you are in a relationship that you really want to work out but you just can’t seem to make it succeed. Maybe you have been pursuing a career path that you believe is right for you yet it’s not coming to fruition.  It may even be that you’ve found yourself trying keep your home, your employment or your finances intact, yet the external circumstances seem to be prohibiting the result you desire.

In the Abraham-Hicks teachings, there is a metaphor used to describe this type of resistance.  Basically, it goes like this; imagine that you are standing at the edge of a raging river.  You watch the water as it runs downstream, but you are determined to get upstream because you believe or have been told that what you want is up there.  So you place your boat in the water and use the oars to turn the boat around and begin paddling with all your might. The current of the river is strong but you are determined to get up the river so you paddle even harder, pushing against the force, meanwhile, exhausting yourself in the process.

Living with the belief that what we want is upstream; we work hard, play hard, live hard and end up tired, lifeless and unhappy.  We get stuck on “how” things will manifest, we fight for them to come about in the way we think they should. We have all been taught to never give up, to go for things with all our strength and to fight for what we want because our interminable effort will eventually pay off.

So, what do you do when you want something so badly yet all the results you are getting are that of struggle or conflict? Instead of paddling upstream, try pulling the oars into your boat and allow the river to take you where it will. In other words, surrender and learn to go with the flow of life. If you are determined and passionate, then something will always happen, it just doesn’t always happen the way you want it to. When you are not stuck on the “how”, you can allow opportunities to present themselves that may not have otherwise existed.

Do not view surrendering as giving up; there is a huge difference. To surrender means to yield, to concede to the way things are and to give way to something else without forcing it to happen our way.  Giving up is entirely different, it means to quit, to stop and to resign yourself to the idea that something is just not going to happen.  It’s important to know what you want and to take action steps every day to achieve your goals. However, you must also incorporate the Law of Allowing into the equation because there is a greater power at work in your life and surrender is the invitation by which we summon the mystery of life’s unfolding.

Never give up, but do surrender by waving that spiritual white flag and choose to go with the flow of whatever is happening that is causing great resistance because you just never know what may be right around the next corner when you’re willing to be unattached to the outcome.

“If things don’t work out the way you want them to, it just means there’s something better yet to come and you may never have found it if you hadn’t been forced too. With each change that you’re forced to make, life will take you into new worlds, introduce you to new people, open your eyes to things that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Just one introduction to one person, one person you would never have met had you not been forced into change, could re-arrange and re-shape your entire life into something you never could have even imagined before. With each change you have to make, a great many more options will open up to you; they always do. I know that change can be frightening, but you can’t let that hold you down, or hold you back. Tomorrow is a new day, so pull your shoulders back, raise your head up, and greet the morning sun with a smile on your face.  This could be just another day… or the beginning of the best day of your life. Step into the new day with a thirst for challenge and you might just be surprised with what comes your way.”

~ David Crawford, Author and Poet