Today I am absolutely thrilled to be over at A Beautiful Mess today! Described as a "safe space for honesty and inspiration," the blog is based on the book A Beautiful Mess by Kristin Ritzau. I actually have the privilege of knowing Kristin "in real life" through my alma-mater! I believe so much in her message of self-care and encouragement, and being able to write for her blog was a true pleasure.
The theme for Fall was "Letting Go" and honestly I do not think it was a coincidence that God had me reflect on this topic. I am the first one to admit that I am a control-freak and a perfectionist. Anyone else? Letting go is not something that comes naturally to me. In fact, it scares me. I hope you'll hop on over to A Beautiful Mess and read my story about overcoming my need for control and how my faith has put me on the road to recovery.
Here's a little preview:
My name is Alyssa, and I am a control-freak. There. I said it.If you'd like, head on over and read the rest of The Road to Recovery and please let me know what you think!
I admit to craving control. I confess that I am afraid of failing, and I’m afraid of people knowing that I failed. Believe me when I say that I get anxiety if things aren’t exactly the way I envisioned them. If it all could just go my way, then I would be fine. If it all could just work out how I think it should, then I could be happy.
Sure, I have faith. But most days my faith is fighting for space in a heart that is unwilling to yield to the Divine. I don’t want to relinquish control to things unseen. I’m more comfortable weaving the threads of my own life because, no matter how tangled they get, at least I wouldn’t be disappointing anyone but myself.
I'm so curious to hear from the other control-freaks out there. How do you find your need for control impacting your daily life? Your happiness? Your faith? How have you been able to "let go"? Any advice for other self-professed control-freaks?
If you are visiting from A Beautiful Mess, welcome to All Things Beautiful! While you're here, learn a little bit more about me. I'm glad you came to visit and I hope you stick around! Leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!
I can relate to the control-freak thing. I have a strong perfectionist streak in me, but it has sure weathered a lot over the years. Living overseas for many years certainly weakened it, because there was so much beyond my control. I've learned through a lot of failure and a lot of heartache that I can't control everything, that I hurt myself and others when I try to. I'm still learning to let go of that need to control. I'm recognizing that it's okay to accept things that are less than perfect. I'm not "cured." I'm still a reforming, recovering control freak, but I'm finding great freedom in letting go. I still try to keep certain aspects of my life in a comfortable level of control, such as my workspace, certain aspects of our home and other manageable things. I'm not there yet, but I'm learning. I can't continue to live with the stress levels that I have when trying to control every aspect of life. It's just not healthy or sustainable. I hope you will grow into the freedom of letting go!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment Andrew. I appreciate your perspective. It has been really comforting to hear from other self-professed control freaks!
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