A Short List Of Things To ‘Let Go’ Of
For when you need that extra push.
Comparison
Your life is not someone else’s, and their life is not yours, and so, trying to line up your life accomplishments, or problems, or highlights or failures is not going to do anything for you other than make you feel bad. Or stress you out. Or some combination of the two. The only person you need to compare yourself to is the human you were yesterday.
The impulse to make it always about you
It’s not always about you. It’s not always that someone is mad at you, or upset with you, or in love with you, or jealous of you, or happy for you. Sometimes, it’s about them. Sometimes, it’s best just to listen.
The ones who do not love you back
There will be people in your life whom you adore and want to stand by and shower with love — and they will not love you back. It’s hard to hear, but it’s true. Continuously pouring your love into this relationship is not going to do anything but drain you, and keep you from basking in the glow of the ones who do reciprocate your love.
Fear of failure
If you do not know what it’s like to fail, you cannot place yourself in a position to succeed.
Engaging with hate
Amplify the voices of love, and they will be louder than the cries of hate.
Your control mindset
There are plenty of things you cannot control in life — but there are plenty of things that you can. Redirect your focus into what you can control, and resist the urge to pour energy into the things you cannot.
The notion that changing your plan, or your idea or your life is somehow a bad thing
When we change, we learn. When we learn, we grow. When we grow, we’re cultivating the ground that allows us to bloom.
The idea of perfection
We are all flawed, beautiful, complex creatures — and yet, nobody is perfect. No job is perfect. No relationship is perfect. No life is perfect — but there is so much joy to be found in the depths of imperfection.
People pleasing
It is not your job to make everyone around you happy all the time. If people are happy in your presence, that’s a beautiful thing. But if they are having a bad day, or a bad week, or a bad year — you cannot make them be happy. You can be there for them, and support them, and listen to them — but make them happy? No. That’s something they must do on their own.
Striving for that work-life balance
Work-life balance is a myth. Routines are lovely, habits are the building blocks of success — but there are days where work will be madness, and you will not be able to be fully present in your personal life. And then there will be days when whatever is going on in your personal life is more important than whatever is going on in your work. It’s impossible to do them both with equal enthusiasm at once — for you are not a machine. Recognize that there is an ebb and flow to the days of your life — and maintaining inner peace, not balance, is the thing that will make you feel grounded.
