Growth is as much about doing the things that work as it is about letting go of the things that don’t work.
Taking control over your life by letting go might sound counter-intuitive but it actually makes sense. Letting go of the hurts, failures and missed chances of the past frees your energy so that you can focus on the now. Letting go of the things we’re supposed to do or be gives us the freedom we need to build a life we truly want. Letting go of the things that hold us back from reaching our potential and our dreams is critical.\
Taking Control By Letting Go
“You want to fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” ~Toni Morrison
A while back, my friend Kerstin posted her fucket list. Last fall I had my “fuck it” moment too. It made me realize that we often stand in the way of our own happiness, and it inspired me to make some drastic changes.
Today, I no longer:
- allow others to decide how I feel (or try to hide my feelings),
- ruminate (there’s no point in holding onto those negative thoughts),
- put myself last (this has already proved quite life-changing),
- second guess myself (related to ruminating; learn from your mistakes, then let go),
- assume the worst (have a little bit of faith in the world, others, but especially in myself),
- multitask (like eating while reading, or cooking while helping kids with homework),
- try to be perfect (there’s no need to cook gourmet dinners 7 times a week, is there?),
- try to please everyone (that often means saying “no” to clients I don’t want to work with).
At some point, we have to realize that we have all it takes to build a rich and fulfilling life. And it starts with letting go of the things that stand in our way.
Kerstin @ Auer Life
Yes! I’m so glad your wrote your own fucket list!
I love that you quit multitasking. It’s such a stigma with women, because we are the born multitaskers, right? But it wears you down, keeps you from being in the moment…
Way to go, my friend!
Joanna Ciolek
Thank you, my friend. Until I started paying attention (practice of mindfulness), I didn’t realize how scattered my attention and tired my brain was because I multitasked “to save time”. The constant switching from one task to another (I was notoriously checking email while coding, for example) takes more effort than we think. And in the end it makes us less productive and effective, on top of being more exhausted. “One at the time” is now my motto.