You may have heard the story of Archimedes, the Greek scientist who made one of his great discoveries in the bathtub. In case you haven’t heard it, the story goes something like this: Archimedes was trying very hard to figure out if King Hiero II’s crown was made completely of gold or if it had some silver mixed in. But he couldn’t melt down the crown to find out.
How Archimedes Solved His Problem
After trying very hard and not being able to figure out the truth, he went to take a bath and he realized that as he got into the bath, the water level rose and some of the water splashed out. From this, he realized that you could figure out the density of the crown by the volume of water which was displaced. And he was so excited about the discovery that he ran out naked, shouting “Eureka!” which means “I have found it.”
“Letting Go” or “Surrender”
This amusing anecdote indicates what it means to let go, something that we could all do more of in everyday life. You may also have heard of the idea of “surrender” which is the same thing. Letting go or surrender refer to the process of turning your mind to something else, temporarily. Often, you may try very hard to figure something out at work or in your personal life, with no success. But it’s possible that if you put the problem aside and do something relaxing instead, the answer will come to you.
Letting Your Subconscious Roam Freely
Many people report having epiphanies like Archimedes when they’re in the shower, when they’re running or when they’re doing something else which doesn’t take up too much mind space. The idea is to do something which distracts you but doesn’t require too much concentration, leaving your subconscious mind free to work in the background. Once your subconscious has this kind of freedom, it can make strange, creative connections which you could not have thought of consciously.
Let Go But Don’t Give Up
Keep in mind that letting go is not the same as giving up. When you give up on something, you’re feeding it negative energy because you’re having negative thoughts about it. You’re thinking, “This is never going to work” or “This is really not worth it.” These negative thoughts and the negative feelings attached to them will prevent you from having the kind of epiphany you would have if were to just let go without any expectations.
