The Art of Letting Go

Letting go of anything that means something to you can be hard. Whether it’s a person, a relationship or even that old beaten down car you’ve owned for the last 10 years. Naturally we go through life and there are cycles or periods of your life. You can imagine these cycles as wheels. Constantly turning and moving. But you don’t just have one wheel, you have a system of wheels and sometimes when their times up and they’re worn down to the tyre, they fall off. It doesn’t serve a purpose anymore, it’s not helping to hold up the system, so it falls.

I started to see things in my life represented on those wheels. There are some that are constant, and stronger than the others. But thats because I take time to maintain them, because I want them there. And then there are those that are forgotten about, or the ones that just arrived faulty. Do you see where I’m going with this?

As I have gotten older, I realise that not everything and everybody stay around for the duration. And holding onto people and things that you have out grown isn’t healthy. I’m acknowledging that its hard to let go of these things. But how do you expect your wheel system to keep going if you have a faulty wheel on it?

KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO LEAVE

I don’t know about you, but I often can feel it’s time I should be letting go. The situation hasn’t gone the way I thought it would, and I know that I would be happier without this person/thing in my life. Thats how I gauge whether or not it’s time for me to let go. If I have recognised that something isn’t for me in my life, then I want it gone. I have to ask myself why I would knowingly keep something thats not meant to be in my life, just for the sake of it.

It may take a while for you to come to that conclusion, but when you do. You’ll be happier for it.

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SOMETIMES HOLDING ON CAN HURT YOU MORE

There is this analogy that I see often on social media. It’s an image of a hand holding a piece of rope. You can visibly see that the rope is digging into the hand and causing pain to the person. And the quote that comes with it is “Sometimes holding on can hurt you more.” And wow, that is so true. Holding onto something that is no longer for you, in the long run can hurt you. When you have outgrown a situation or a person, but you love them or want to still be in their life even though it’s hurting you, can really have a negative impact on you.

Staying where you no longer are valued, or appreciated isn’t a smart idea. It may take you a while to remove yourself from the situation but you will do it eventually. This doesn’t just apply to relationships either. This can be anything like the church you attend, or a job you’re currently working. Wherever it is that you don’t feel appreciated, remove yourself. And see how much more fruitful and peaceful your life is because of it.

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DON’T LOOK BACK

Often when you’re in the process of letting go of something, you want to go back. You want to see if the situation might be different now you’ve had time away. In some cases people and situations can change, but if the problem is a root issue. Then nothing will change. It might even take a you a few times to walk away, so you do end up going back. If thats the case, do it as many times as you need. And then finally make your choice, and always choose you.

Once you’re out of a negative situation, there isn’t any reason to look back. Look to your future, and bank that lesson you learnt during it. Don’t hold onto the negative memories or feelings you had back then. Move forward with a better, new outlook.\

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Are you struggling to let go of a situation? Have you recently had to walk away from something? I want to hear from you, and your own experiences of how you navigated through that.

Olivia x 
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