I am sure you have heard the phrase ‘let go’, more than a few times.
What do these words mean? What do you let go?
This phrase is often said, when someone is having pain for something that happened in the past. Most people are unable to quit the past and go on. They keep thinking about it, causing themselves suffer.
The problem is people don’t know how to let go.
There is attachment, and there is the fear of letting go.
People fear they might lose something in this process, but losing what is causing pain is a blessing. It is not a loss.
Too much involvement past memories, suffering, unhappy thoughts and negative people, take too much of your time, energy and health. This involvement agitates your mind and feelings, obstructs common sense, and prevents you from enjoying inner peace. Letting go is the answer.
What Is Letting Go?
- It is stopping the attachment to the past, especially to painful past memories, and focusing on the present. When you release the past you can start accepting the present.
- It is non-attachment to results. This means that you do your best in every situation, but if things do not turn well or as planned, you don’t dwell on them and don’t get disappointed or discouraged.
- Letting go is like lifting the anchor of your ship, so that it can sail away. In order to move on, you need to release thoughts, habits, fears and worries. These are you anchor, your shackles that tie you down to the same habits, circumstances and a certain way of life.
- Letting go requires a certain degree of emotional detachment. This leads to non-attachment, about which all the spiritual traditions speak about.
If you don’t let go, you remain tied and not free. You limit your perception, cause yourself stress and tension. If you cannot detach yourself from painful memories, envy, jealousy, bad relations, you suffer. It is like being in a swamp, doing nothing to get out.
On the other hand, letting go, detaching yourself from the causes of suffering, brings relief, ease, joy, and love.
Letting go is so valuable, but few people do something about it. It might seem strange, but they prefer to stay where they are, emotionally, mentally and physically, even this hurts them.
People love the familiar and unknown, and feel more comfortable and safer in familiar situations, even if this causes suffering. They fear of the unknown, and therefore, don’t want to let go. They also don’t know how to let go. No one has ever taught them.
Learning to let go requires more than a short article. It requires, guidance inner work and training, and that’s why I wrote a book about it.
Simple Guidelines for Letting Go
1. Make peace with the past. What happened belongs to the past. Don’t let it tie you down. It is time to go on and live. Will thoughts about the past help you? Absolutely not!
Yes, the mind keeps returning to thoughts and memories you would be glad to forget. That’s okay. Be smarter, and use the same technique the mind is using.
Whenever you catch yourself thinking about painful memories, immediately replace them with opposite thoughts. Replace them with positive and happy thoughts. In time, this will turn into a habit.
2. Did you love somebody and you separated?
If you want to get back, and there is such a chance, keep on trying. However, if you see no chance, let go and move on.
Thinking about him or her and suffering is useless. No one gains anything from this situation. It might be easier said than done, but you should move on with your life and meet other people. Don’t stay stuck.
3. Sometimes goals change. Sometimes priorities change. Learn to change with them and take another course, another direction.
4. Fear might be holding you back. Letting go also means facing the fears and disappointments of the past, and then severing you connection with them. Try it, and you will see that it is not so difficult.
5. Are you holding on to old grudges? Do you play in your mind something someone said that hurt you? You are hurting yourself, not the one who hurt you. You are the one suffering and that’s foolish.
Don’t hold on to grudges and hurt feelings. It is like pouring fuel into the fire. Holding on to anger, resentment and hatred will hold you back. It will make you unhappy. Throw away these feelings. Yes, you can. Refuse to have anything to do with them. That might not be easy, but that’s the direct way.
6. If some people discourage you and stand in your way, move on. Meet new people.
7. Open your mind to opportunities, new starts, and new things. Do what makes you happy, improves, improves your life, and benefits you and the society where you live. Don’t be afraid to let go what holds you back.
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