We all have a desire to control.

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To control our lives and our futures.

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The thought of being out of control usually terrifies us.

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Anything can feel better than losing control.

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So we grab on to and hold the things we can tightly.

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For at least we can have some sense of control that way.

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It comforts us to control our diets, our exercise, and our daily routines.

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In fact, we might become so attached to our routines, we cannot allow anything to change them.

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We make the routine more important than what it is that we really want to achieve.

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Which is to be happy.

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To infuse our lives with joy and fun.

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Living life for the adventure and the pure pleasure of it.

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Yet we often do not realize that by holding on so tightly to control, we leave little room for magic.

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For life cannot bring us the serendipitous connections when there is no space for us to receive them.

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It is only when we loosen our grip on controlling our lives that life has a chance to get in and brings us something beyond our imagination.

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When we try to force magic to happen, it never does.

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Grabbing and holding ourselves so tightly to what we have planned out for ourselves squeezes the very juice out of life.

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We do this by holding our expectations so firmly that nothing can come to us outside of our expectations.

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Yet the real magic happens when we least expect it.

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For it is only when we allow ourselves to get lost that we can find something unexpected.

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It is only when we step forward without any idea of what we are getting ourselves into can life truly surprise us.

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We might be walking a different route to our home one day when we suddenly meet the love of our life.

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Or perhaps we travel to a foreign land where we don't speak the language only to discover a connection to someone you would have never met otherwise.

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In so many ways we learn the most about ourselves and about life when we least expect it.

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For any expectation narrows down possibilities and constricts opportunities.

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When we are open, receptive, and fluid, then life can present us with a myriad of surprising options that we never imagined.

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Being willing to drop our expectations is a great place to start.

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Allowing ourselves to get lost, both figuratively and literally, can surely help.

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Lightening our grip and releasing our expectations will surely bring us closer.

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Closer to those moments when life can open our eyes and bless us with something truly miraculous.

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So where in your own life are you holding onto expectations too tightly?

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What can you do to give more space and more room for life to surprise you with some magic?

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~ Sam Liebowitz, The Conscious Consultant

Host of The Conscious Consultant Hour