Surrender Is Not What You Think It Is
I say this word a lot. Surrender.
And I know how it lands for some people. Like giving up. Like waving the white flag. Like letting life happen to you
That is not what I mean. Not even close.
When my life blew up, and I mean blew up, I found myself in a financial black hole. The kind where you don't see the bottom and you're not sure there is one. And I can tell you exactly what would have kept me stuck there: gripping. Fighting. Trying to control my way out of something that could not be controlled. And underneath all of it, judging myself. Shame. Guilt. Replaying every choice that got me there like the punishment would somehow pay the debt.
Surrender meant letting go of that too. Not just the control. The judgment. The shame. The guilt. All of it had to go, because none of it was getting me out.
What got me through was surrender. Day after day. Moment after moment. Not once, not as a grand dramatic decision, but as a practice I had to choose again and again. Some days again and again within the same hour.
And it was fucking hard. There were days I had to go outside and count my cucumbers, my flowers, my tomatoes just to stay grounded in gratitude and abundance. Sometimes multiple times a day. That was the practice. That's what it actually looked like. If I had not surrendered, I would have stayed stuck. And miserable. Full stop.
Surrender Is Both Active and Passive
Here's what I've learned, and what I teach: surrender has two sides. Most people only see one.
The active side is this. You do the actions. You make the choices that align with your desired outcomes. You show up. You make the call. You have the hard conversation. You take the next right step even when you can't see step five. Surrender is not sitting on the couch waiting for the universe to fix your bank account. Believe me, I checked. It doesn't work that way.
Then there's the passive side. Once you've done your part, you let GO. Of the timeline and what it looks like. Of needing to know how it all resolves before you're willing to breathe again. Take aligned action, then release. Do the work, then open your hands to GOD. One foot in action and one in letting go. That's the whole practice. Simple to say. It's hard to live. Worth everything, as everything good lives on the other side or hard. But HARD is just a label WE give anything that scares us.
Surrender to the Feelings Too
And here's the part almost nobody talks about. You don't just surrender the outcomes. You surrender to the negative thoughts, the feelings, the emotions themselves.
Not push them down. Not pretend they aren't there. Not positive-think your way past them. Surrender TO them. Let the fear be fear. Let the doubt be doubt. Feel it all the way through instead of running from it. And act anyway. That is courage. And that's where the miracles and the growth show up.
Because here's the secret: when you stop resisting those emotions, they stop running you. And then you can do something powerful with them. You transmute them. That fear becomes focus. That anger becomes drive. That shame becomes the fire under everything you're building.
Every negative thought and feeling is raw energy. Resisted, it keeps you stuck. Surrendered to and transmuted, it becomes fuel for your desires. The very thing that was holding you down becomes the thing that moves you forward. I didn't climb out of that black hole in spite of what I was feeling. I climbed out riding the tsunami like a master surfer.
What This Has to Do With Your Business
Everything, actually.
Because the business that supports the life of your dreams cannot be built with a clenched fist. I've watched it, and I've lived it. When you're gripping, every decision comes from fear. You hold on to clients you've outgrown, offers that drain you, control you should have handed off long ago. You force doors that aren't yours and miss the ones standing wide open.
The dream life business gets built the same way I climbed out of that black hole. Aligned action, released outcome. You choose what matches the life you actually want, not the one you think you're supposed to want. You do the work in front of you. And then you trust.
That trust is not naive. It's earned. It comes from knowing you did your part, so you can let life do its part. 100% faith in who you are and what you are capable of. That, and knowing God, the universe, whatever you call it, has your back.
The Moment After Moment Part
This is where most people quit.
Surrender is not one decision. You will take it back. You will grab the wheel again at 2 a.m. running numbers in your head. That's human. The practice is noticing, and choosing surrender again. Moment after moment. That's not failing at surrender. That IS surrender.
And here's what happens over time. The grip loosens. The fear gets quieter. And the business, and the life, start to take a shape you could never have forced into existence.
I must add that my daily rituals and routines are what hold me up in it. Journaling. Meditation. Grounding. They bookend my days, AM and PM, so surrender isn't something I hope to remember. It's built in. I'm not writing this from theory. And I'm not writing it from some finish line either. I am still in the hole, yet surrounded by light. Surrender is the reason I'm here, building a business that funds my freedom instead of one that consumes my life.
If You're Gripping Right Now
If you're reading this with a clenched fist, whether it's your business, your finances, or your whole life, I see you. I was you. I am you.
So here's my question: What is one aligned action you can take today? And what is one outcome you're finally ready to release?
Start there. Moment after moment.
And if you want help sorting out which is which, book a free clarity call with me. It's my gift to you. No pitch, no pressure. Just clarity.
BOOK YOUR GIFTED CLARITY CALL HERE
Love, Light & Prosperity
Prosperous Jenn
Soulful Prosperity Field notes from a 55-year-old digital nomad while building a business that supports the life of my dreams.
P.S. I just launched a new personal Instagram. Come follow along at @inspiredlvn for the behind the scenes of all of it.
