PART 1

Accept

Accept and let go of trying to control the chaos out there. Let’s control the chaos in our own minds and the actions we take each day.

Accept that life is uncertain, unpredictable, complicated, and fast. Accept the impermanence and imperfections. Accept both the ups and the downs. By learning to stop trying to bring our narrative of order and perfection to life, which actually has no order, we can start the process of living again.

Accept that there is no perfect job, no perfect person, no perfect relationship, and no perfect life. There are only jobs, people, relationships, and life. Accept it all as it is—good, bad, great, short, up-and-down, awful, crazy, and every way in between.

Life has always been chaotic, and it gets more complicated as the world progresses forward with ever more people. Let’s get used to it.

Accept that we cannot control life. We can only control ourselves—our thoughts, our words, and our actions.

Accept that we have always had a choice to think differently, to take action, to move forward, to use our own hands, to create, to innovate, to do, to live.

Let go of all the old baggage. Let go of the ego. Let go of the way things used to be or the way you think they ought to be.

Let go of past relationships, past ways of working, and the need to hang on to something that isn’t there anymore. Let go of trying to bring your order and your expectations to the outside world.

Stop trying to control what crosses your path. Just control yourself.

I know this kind of acceptance is a tall order—few can practice it consistently or perfectly. For some, it may take a lifetime to master. Many will even criticize this kind of acceptance as passiveness, weakness, or defeatism. Shouldn’t we always pull out the stops to fight something that’s bothering us?

However, the practice of acceptance is a “don’t knock it until you try it” kind of principle, as the following stories will attempt to show.