Don’t Micromanage The Universe!

This week I was catching up with a friend, who was telling me that he got hired as a dance teacher at a school. He was pleased that the position gives him a lot of flexibility around when he arrives and leaves each day, as long as he gets all his work done.

Because his supervisor doesn’t see him regularly, she asked him to contact her each time he comes and goes, so she can keep track of when he is there. He replied with a firm, “No.”

I admired his assertiveness, and asked him why he was so adamant.

He explained that he knows how to do his job and always gets everything done and if he has a problem or there is a situation, he won’t hesitate to call and let her know. While he can leave early, he is so passionate about what he does, more often than not, he arrives early and leave late.

He said it’s important to him that she trusts that he knows what he is doing and he is taking care of everything. He doesn’t need or want to be micromanaged.

After his story sunk in, I realized that if The Universe had the time and inclination to speak directly to me, it would say pretty much the same thing.

More often than I like, I find myself micromanaging how certain scenarios will play out in my life. “I’ll do this, then this will happen, then that person will call, then finally I will get what I want.” Meanwhile, I am not recognizing opportunities staring me right in the face.

I know it would serve me better to do just what is within my immediate control and trust that the stars will align and everything will fall into place. But I don’t always remember to trust.

Most times what I need and want shows up in unexpected ways at unexpected times. And probably would have shown up sooner if I wasn’t so busy micromanaging The Universe.

"The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you."

~Neil deGrasse Tyson