Let Go

Is there someone from your past that did something so awful that it affects you to this day? Maybe your father told you that you would never amount to anything. You could choose to believe him and allow his words to define who you are, or you could choose to let go by realizing that you control your destiny and no one has the power to take that away from you.

Stop blaming other people for your problems

If you blame others for your circumstances, you are giving away your power and relegating yourself to a victim. Victims are at the mercy of those around them. What if you chose to let go of the blame? You could take responsibility for everything that happens to you. By refusing to allow the actions of others to dictate your future, you put yourself in the driver’s seat.

You don’t always have to be right

If you are in the right lane on the highway and another car is entering the road from an on-ramp, you have the right of way. As that car begins to encroach in your lane you can choose to be right and stay where you are, or you could choose to slow down or switch lanes to avoid the merging driver. The former probably results in an accident that would be the fault of the merging car. Technically you would “be in the right,” but at what cost? When you have an argument with a friend or loved one and you know you are right and they are wrong, what are the odds that they will see things your way? For most arguments the chances are very low that they will come around, especially if the conflict touches on an area where they have strong beliefs. If you continue to push your point of view to fulfill a need to be right, you run the risk damaging or destroying your relationship. What if instead you simply put your ego in check and allowed them to be right? I’m not suggesting that you do this every time and become a spineless individual. I am suggesting that you pick your battles. If the issue is of critical importance, or could affect you or someone close to you negatively, than it may make sense to mount an argument. If this is not the case, let go. The “I’m smarter than you” argument never helps any relationship.

Self-created ceilings

If you tell yourself something over and over again, you eventually start to believe what you say. If you listen to others say things about you over and over again you will ultimately take it as truth. This can be good or bad. If you have been conditioned to believe that you are a simple person meant to live paycheck to paycheck just like your parents, you will probably not grow financially. Your choice to accept this results in a self-created ceiling. That ceiling is driven by your beliefs. Whether those beliefs were brought on by your own thinking or have come from influencers around you is irrelevant. You have the power within you to let go and change them. If you are rewriting your story, make it exactly what you want it to be. Tell your new story to yourself over and over again. See yourself in this new story as clearly as you can. Go there in your mind and grasp the feeling of what it would be like to make this story your real life situation. Convince yourself that this story or something better will become your reality.

Forgive

Anger and resentment inhibit your happiness. They fester inside you and can negatively impact your health and your success. If you are holding a grudge against someone, can you find a way to forgive them? Regardless of whether they are alive or dead or you choose to tell them or not, the act of forgiving removes those pent up toxins inside you. If it’s you that needs forgiveness for a mistake you’ve made, you must realize that we are all imperfect, sometimes we make rash decisions, we don’t think things through, or we exercise poor judgment. It’s all part of the human experience. If you are harboring anger for yourself or for someone else, it’s time to let go, forgive, and move on.

If you have situations in your life where you were able to let go and good things happened as a result, please send your stories to me at [email protected]. I’d love to include them in an upcoming 90 Second Navigator Podcast.