I always thought surrender was a bad thing. It meant I had lost and was a loser. It meant that I was just stuck in my helplessness and would not ever be able to make anything better. I thought the purpose of life was to be a winner and that winning was the definition of success. Of course, there's a little tiny bit of truth to that perspective, but there are many, many other perspectives that come from an almost opposite direction.
Surrender works really well in my life when I let go of trying to control something that I'm actually powerless to control. I used to think that if I surrendered, it meant there was no hope. But it actually means that I just need to ask for help.
Sometimes there's a solution, and when I ask for help from God and other people, we can find it. Other times when God and other people help me look at my situation, we see that it's something I can accept and be at peace. Of course, acceptance is a huge big deal when the situation is truly tough. But it gets so much better when I stop complaining inside my head.
