Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go
Hermann Hesse
All of us at some point in our lives become overly attached to things, people or situations. We foster fears of the unknown and don’t want to take the leap or let go of our current situations that will help us grow. We hold onto certain places, things, people and thought patterns and don’t want to move forward without them.
However, once we learn the art of letting go, our lives change drastically, we learn to reclaim our lives and break free from the stress and unhappiness that comes with the need to control everything around us.
As humans we need to learn to be vulnerable and more often than not, it is quite impossible to control our lives no matter how carefully we plan it. In such situations, its best to learn the art of letting go and taking risks for our personal growth and long-term happiness.
When we look at it, life is a journey of detachment which begins the day we are born. We come into the world and the first detachment is someone cutting off the umbilical cord. These detachments continue in life as we grow older, we learn to leave the house to join school, we learn to end friendships and relationships that become detrimental to us or no longer serve us. But none of these things has ever been easy. Sometimes letting go is very hard, lets take a look at some of the reasons why:
- You’re emotionally attached
- Your ego isn’t letting you admit its best to let go
- You’re not willing to believe something is untrue
- You don’t realize you’re holding on
- You’re scared of change
- You’ve invested too much
Letting go comes with many benefits including regulating our emotions and allowing us to grow, reducing stress and mental exhaustion as well. Before we dive into the benefits of letting go let’s also provide clarity on one thing: letting go does not mean not caring or ignoring how others feel, it actually is quite the opposite. Letting go means we choose to acknowledge our thoughts and feelings and change our current reality. We learn the art of detaching. That is not something bad, but it just means that we learn to step outside of a situation and reflect.
Learn to Let Go and Detach
Here are some easy tips for you to incorporate in your life and detach yourself from a situation.
Be Aware
Make a conscious effort to identify the areas of your life where you feel you don’t have control. Observe your mind and be fully aware of the areas that attachment happens the most for you. Once you are aware you can take the necessary steps to step back and detach.
Welcome Uncertainty
Learn to acknowledge that in life, there will always be many things outside of your control. Fretting over those things only causes unwanted stress. By learning to accept that many things are outside your control and often will be uncertain, you bring yourself back to the present moment and are better able to center your focus and energy.
Meditate
Through meditation you can relax the body and mind. You can learn to release things, thoughts and emotions that no longer serve you. Once you relax via meditation your mind you also learn to have the freedom to act without feeling constrained or limited by the past. Mindful meditation is one way to cultivate healing and personal growth. Check out this guided meditation that will help you in letting go:
Be Grateful
In order to let go, you need to be fully satisfied and grateful for the life you have now. Through gratitude and being thankful for the life you are living; you automatically learn to let go of things that no longer serve you and that hold you back.
Always remember, you need to clear out space in your life both physically and emotionally to allow for good things to come to you. By letting go you do exactly that. You have more space to let the good things come to you. Let’s quickly look at a list of some of the things you can start letting go of today:
- Let go of doubt and fear of what the future holds
- Let go of procrastination
- Let go of unhealthy financial habits
- Let go of toxic relationships
- Let go of the need to say yes to everything
- Let go of clutter
- Let go of the past
- Let go of worry about others’ opinions of you
- Let go of your need for perfectionism in your personal and professional life
- Let go of grudges
