How to Let Go of What No Longer Serves You
When I clean out my closet or junk drawer in my kitchen, I feel a bit lighter.
Although this act may seem small, letting go of what I no longer want or need feels freeing.
What I’m aware of is that energetically it was taking up space in my life.
The increased sense of order gives me a sense of accomplishment and the energetic space allows for something new to enter my life.
When I reflect on my life’s journey, I realize it’s a similar experience.
In order to create new ways of being, I’ve got to leave old habits, thoughts or behaviors behind that no longer serve me.
And sometimes the new ways of being involve the external things such as structures, organizations, or systems.
When I reflect on my path, I can see the times when I fought hard to keep my self-imposed limitations that kept me in a cycle that didn’t serve me or what I wanted.
One example of this was with my business and saying I wanted to grow, yet being more committed to working only a certain number of hours / week.
Afraid I would lose myself to my work and harm my personal relationships like I’ve seen others do, success and growth came with the feeling that I would lose more than I would gain.
Over time, I discovered that’s not true – and letting go of that pattern immediately made me feel 20 pounds lighter.
Another example of keeping a pattern that doesn’t serve is when you stay with a job or put up with a situation or condition longer than is good for you because you’re afraid of stepping into the unknown, or because it’s easier to be unhappy and “safe.”
Thoughts turn into actions which turn into habits – and this process can be sneaky.
It’s easy to carry around something that is creating an unintended negative consequence in your life without realizing it.
This is why I’ve grown to enjoy and appreciate regular intervals of cleaning out – in mind, body, and soul, as well as on the tangible level.
The questions that my often clients ask are, “How do you do realize you need that kind of clean up?” and “How do you do it?”
While it would be easy to say, like the maintenance on your furnace, “just schedule it once a year,” it’s not always that simple. Scheduling is fine, however, you probably don’t want to wait that long!
In your life and business the first indication that you need a clean out is the sense that things aren’t quite working.
It may be a feeling of chronic discontent; like opening up your closet each morning discouraged because nothing you have fits right, feels good, or makes you want to wear it.
One of the biggest “red flags” is as I shared earlier, when what you say matters to you doesn’t line up with what you do and the outcome.
How you take on this kind of clean out is sometimes tricky.
While you feel frustrated or disheartened and it’s tempting to just ditch everything, the most constructive approach is to examine the beliefs that prop up the habits you’ve built.
It’s not always obvious to understand what’s been operating in the background.
These limiting or rigid beliefs aren’t founded on the reality of the current situation, yet you’ve come to believe they were “true.”
Because they’re embedded, it’s important to have a coach or outside perspective to help you glean what those beliefs are so that you can adjust them.
When you change the beliefs based on new understanding, you can truly let go of unwanted feelings that keep you tethered to move forward with more ease and joy in each step.
Life is hard enough.
Be willing to let go of what drags you down or no longer serves.
Isn’t it worth the risk to have more freedom and joy? You have good work to do.
ACTION: The Upside Challenge of the week is to notice any areas of chronic complaint or where things don’t feel quite right.
See if you can discover what beliefs are keeping you from making a change.
Make a note of them.
Are you committed to adjusting any of them so you can have something new? If so, reach out to someone for support to make it happen! The world needs you and your brilliance now more than ever.
