“Letting go is a natural ability. It is not something new or foreign. It is not an esoteric teaching or somebody else’s idea or a belief system. We are merely utilizing our own inner nature to get freer and happier. When letting go, it’s helpful not to ‘think’ about the technique. It’s better to simply, just do it.” – Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins, MD., Ph.D.
Life is always presenting us with opportunities to let go and accept the reality of constant change. Maybe you have kids that are heading off to college and you find yourself holding on to them too tightly, unable to face the inevitable ‘goodbye.’ Maybe your intuition is telling you to leave a job or a relationship that no longer serves you, but you choose to ignore it because the prospect of your own freedom feels too daunting.
Maybe you are trapped in your own head, ruminating on conversations from long ago, letting the present moment float by as you wonder “what if…”
Why is letting go so difficult?
We struggle with letting go because we have a deeply ingrained fear of the unknown. This fear creates resistance, and that resistance keeps us stuck. No matter how free we could be if we released certain thoughts, people, or patterns, we subconsciously cling to them because we are terrified of change.
The solution: continuously practice the art of letting go
Questions to ask before letting go
- What about letting go scares me the most?
- What, if anything, do I have to lose by letting go?
- What will I gain by leaning into change?
Accept your fears and release them; your resistance will slowly begin to dissolve. Push past stagnation and toward growth.
What happens when we allow ourselves to let go?
When we allow ourselves to let go more easily, we begin to recognize that our thoughts are what create resistance in our lives. They are mental images that prevent us from staying present in the here and now. In a counterintuitive way, they try to protect us from reality, just in case it is too uncomfortable or painful.
The more we let go of our fears and experience the world as it is, the more we see our thoughts as projections. They become predictable and maybe even kind of funny. We come to understand that we are not our thoughts and that our thoughts don’t control us.
We are the ones with the power.
Letting go is an art, and art takes time. As the poet Atticus said, “Monet grew his gardens before he painted them.” With sustained effort and self-reflection, you can learn to let go and start to craft your own beautiful next chapter.
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Let go and lean into change. Book your strategy session to learn how.
