One of my favourite things to do during my lunch break is to take a Daily Trip. Not anywhere far, though it can sometimes be quite the journey. In recent months I discovered that the Calm App had a daily meditation series titled Daily Trip, run by Jeff Warren, that plugs into day-to-day issues and helps you re-centre in spite of them.
Recently, Warren hosted a Daily Trip titled Passenger which is summarised as a meditation in which you can “sit back and trust you’re going where you need to go”.
In it, Warren explains that leaning into the benefits of releasing responsibility and stepping into the role of passenger is all “about cultivating the feeling of relaxing into the flow of the moment.”
“Which means it’s an excellent meditation for control freaks.”
Hands up if you identify as a control freak? I can’t know for sure, but I’d imagine there are a few raised hands right now. Don’t worry, I’ve got mine raised too. (Well, mentally – because I’m typing.)
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a control freak as “a person whose behavior (sic) indicates a powerful need to control people or circumstances in everyday matters”. But it’s a little more complex than that.
Christine Carter, PhD once wrote for Berkley’s Greater Good Magazine that “The more turbulent I am inside, the more I try to control what’s happening outside”.
It’s a symptom experienced by many people who live with feelings of anxiety. The fear of the unknown that rules an anxious or perfectionist brain can seemingly drive you to try and control your circumstances more than others might.
And it’s exhausting.
If you’re someone who often feels this way, taking under 10 minutes to listen to Warren speak about how it’s okay to let thoughts pass by, to accept that you don’t need to be doing anything more right now, to relax, is an incredibly freeing thing.
As Warren puts it, you’re “letting go into the stream of time; letting it take you where it takes you”. It could be argued that all meditations are intended to have this effect, in fact.
Give it a go. You might be surprised by how helpful it is.
You can access the Daily Trip meditations on Calm App with a paid premium subscription (free trials are available) but there are also free meditation practices available under its free subscription if you’re looking for more options.
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