Surrendering Control: Why Letting Go Can Be the Most Empowering Thing You Do

Letting go is the beginning of freedom.

We’re often taught that control equals strength. From an early age, we're shown that the more we can dictate our circumstances—our appearance, our relationships, our careers—the more powerful and secure we’ll feel. But what if the true power lies in surrender? What if letting go is the most radical, empowering act we can take?

It’s not easy to admit that we can’t control everything. For many of us, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, control has been a shield. It’s how we’ve protected ourselves from a world that often feels hostile to our existence. We controlled our behavior, our presentation, our emotions, and sometimes even our dreams, just to stay safe. But safety comes with a cost.

Letting go is terrifying because it means embracing vulnerability. It means accepting that not everything is within our grasp and that there is beauty in surrender. For queer and trans people, especially, this surrender is layered with complexity. How do you let go in a world that has tried to control every aspect of your being? How do you release the grip on shame, fear, and internalized homophobia or transphobia, when those things have been ingrained in you for so long?

It starts with trust—not in others, necessarily, but in yourself.