The Great Surrender

Jan 25

GIVING IN RATHER THAN GIVING UP

We can all admit the last three years have been a whirlwind. The pandemic has forced us to stop and challenge many things, especially the way we work. Chances are you’re familiar with popular terms such as the great resignation, quiet quitting, and–the newest fad–quiet hiring. These terms have been created to explain employee behavior in an ever changing workforce. However, when I read these words, I see only half the picture. I see words meant to create meaning and provide insights for an organization. I don’t see words that share the human side of the story. Take resignation. It’s defined as an act of retiring or giving up a position or the acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable. Um … Hello, POWERLESS?

As someone who was technically part of the great resignation, I refuse to be included in a movement that, by definition, means giving up.

A huge part of redefining the female experience is redefining work. During the pandemic many women left their jobs to take up work at home and fulfill the many daily jobs that are required to keep a household–and humans–alive. I would guess that most mothers have taken a hard look at salaries vs. cost of childcare/caring for a loved one and had to make tough decisions. These women did not give up on work, rather they gave in to their priorities, to their values. Leaving my job to start a company was one of the scariest, yet the bravest, things I have done in a long time. I wasn’t running away from something, quite the opposite. I was running toward something that I truly believe will better serve me and in turn serve my family and community.

This thought of surrendering has been on my mind a lot lately. Not in the “wave the white flag” type of way, but in the act of truly giving in to something, to surrender oneself. It’s easy to find ourselves fighting something, a thought, a hope, a challenge. To find ourselves pushing away from something that feels impossible or scary. But what if we surrendered? I’m not telling you to just immediately take action on the next thought or idea that comes across your mind, but I am encouraging you to surrender to the noise. Before it gets too loud and outrageous, what are these thoughts telling you? Surrender to the inklings and feelings that something isn’t working. Allow yourself to search for truth and meaning in these thoughts before you get forced into resignation, before you feel powerless.

Often, or more like everyday for me, the next steps feel scariest when they don’t fit the status quo.

Especially when you start to think about the judgment or labels you may receive, the questions you might get asked. But, I find when I practice the art of surrender, I can filter past the noise. I can see what I am truly questioning or concerned about and use that lens to give in to what I care about most. Personally, redefining work means determining how to best use my strengths to add value to my community, regardless of how that may fit into the regular 9-5 and the concepts of profit and loss.

So, maybe you are home caring for your family, or maybe you ditched the corporate life for more flexibility or to learn something completely new. Whatever it is–just keep running toward what you value most. And maybe, organizations will start to see a great surrender-not resignation-and start to build cultures and environments that are worth running toward.