Trust and Let Go

While pursuing both Yoga and Mission Minimalism, I realized the ask of both is same – trust and let go. Letting go has always been a struggle for me because I wanted to control the outcome of everything.

And then one day, I decided to believe in the workings of the supreme being and just let go. Thus began my “Worry List”. It’s nothing but a calendar reminder for me to start worrying about something closer to it’s impact.

I realized that when I have too many things to worry about at once, I get overwhelmed and can’t handle the stress. So what I do is, at any given point in time or day, I note down anything or multiple things that stress me out in the Keep Notes App. I like using this app because it syncs with both my laptop and phone. Then I take a breather and figure out when I can put those worries off (not deal with them). I add a reminder for that time.

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say I have a project submission due tomorrow, the bathroom faucets are leaking, I need to buy groceries, and at the end of the month, I have to give notice to my landlord and start searching for a new house. All these things bombard my mind at the same time, and I start thinking about all the tasks I need to do, like packing and house hunting. But all I need to do is take a breather.

I pause and note down these tasks in my Keep Notes. I know that the notice to my landlord doesn’t need to happen until the end of the month, so I still have two weeks to go. I add a reminder for the end of the month and add all the reminders to pack and house hunt after that. I can skip worrying about them until that day.

As for the grocery shopping, I can easily postpone it until tomorrow because I can use what I already have. Actually, I just realized I can make do until the day after tomorrow, so I set the reminder for then. I close the faucet’s source and then book the plumber, setting a reminder for when the plumber will arrive. Three things down, one more to go. Since I’ve pushed out worrying about them to a later time, I focus all my energy on the project submission.

Surprisingly, the next day, I received a basket of veggies from my friend’s place because they were going traveling and didn’t want the veggies to go to waste. I go to Keep and push the grocery reminder to next week. Things start to work out.

As a freelancer, there are times when I’m between projects and may not have earnings that week or month. I use my “Worry List” to remind myself of when I can start worrying about finances. And many times, when the reminder pops up, I simply laugh it off because the problem doesn’t even exist. I’m grateful that I didn’t waste time worrying about it.