As a society, we are indoctrinated from an early age to be consumers. We are told that we must always be seeking more and better and that what we have and are aren't good enough. It is true that some things are worth changing and improving. But the reality is that most things are not. If we want our lives decrease our stress and enhance our lives, we must learn to change our attitudes towards the things we cannot change as well as realize that there are certain things that don't need to change.
A wise person once told me, "If you want to control your animals, provide them with a larger pasture." This koan speaks to the power of letting go and allowing things to be as they are as opposed to trying to exercise a tight grip on everything. Loosening up and giving those things you want to control more space will lead "the animals" to be happier - and wander and do what they naturally do.
Perhaps more importantly, we, too, will have more space to be at peace with the way that things are.
By taking a step back and allowing certain things to happen results in many things taking care of themselves - and our needs will also be met in the process. Furthermore, we will decrease our stress and open up more time and energy to focus on the things that really make a difference - the things that are within our control (like our attitudes).
Remember that letting go is not giving up. Rather, it involves surrendering our ruminative attachments to people, outcomes, and circumstances. It involves showing up daily with the intent to be our highest selves and to do the best we know how without the expectation that life will go a certain way.
Let us keep dreaming, setting goals, building relationships, and taking committed action - but let us likewise detach from our ideas about the way things "ought" to look and turn out.
Ultimately, surrender brings peace and joy and our outer lives are a reflection of our internal state of being.