At Some Point, You Must Learn to Let Go!

It’s early Saturday morning. By now you’ve gotten accustomed to the time change. Don’t you hate it when the clocks change? I know I do and prefer just leaving well enough alone. In any event, what’s motivating or inspiring you this beautiful morning?

For me, it’s reading through a Facebook Memory of a book someone must have posted and I had shared 6 years ago. I’m trying to think about what had caught my attention that particular morning. Sometimes I can tell by looking at my other posts that day. Let’s see, what was I thinking…?

First was a post with a graphic that read, “Sometimes you need to be alone in order to reflect on life. Take time out to take care of yourself. You deserve it.” To that I wrote, “Yes, indeed. I definitely need to bring this more front and center in my life… starting, right now!” Interesting, right?

Living on the lake at that time, I shared some photos around the lake. It was peaceful and tranquil as most mornings were on the lake. I could tell that I was sitting on the patio early that morning, most likely with a cup of hot coffee. My status indicated that I was happy and feeling motivated as I shared, “Enjoying some quiet time while catching up on email, reading, thinking, planning… first quarter is almost finished, half-year mark is in sight.”

My next post that apparently followed soon after the previous two was about the book I mentioned above. It was photo of a turned page as if being read. The page was titled, “Let Go.” Evidently, it caught my attention.

“They say that, at some point, you must learn to let go. I must disagree. If it takes just one moment to let go, then you never really held on tightly enough. To a dream. To a goal. To a person. To anything. I believe that you let go little by little. You let go a little, then hold back on, but with a little less force until you fully release yourself. And the tighter you hold on, the more force you let go with. The deeper you dive, the higher you’ll fly. The closer you get, the further you’ll pull away. The weaker you feel, the stronger you’ll become. so do not be ashamed of your weaknesses. We all have them. You must learn to be kind to yourself. Never think that you’re a bad person. Differentiate between your self-worth and your actions. To say that you’re bad is different than saying you made a mistake. You can’t fix yourself, but you can fix a mistake. And remember not one person on this earth is perfect. We all make mistakes. We all fall. We all have flaws. We just need to look within ourselves and treat ourselves as humans who are worthy of respect and hope. Do not give up on yourself. Get back up. Be brave. Be happy.”

I followed up with one more post that morning. It was by Chuck Berry… “If the people in the audience are talking, you’re being ignored. If the people are gazing at you, you’ve got something they want to hear.”

I’m reading through all of the above this morning and thinking about a multitude of things, all while stirring up a plethora of emotions. But for some reason, it’s fear that is standing out the most. Frankly, it seems to be a recurring theme and today it has been provoked like a sleeping dog awakened abruptly.

Certainly, the past couple of years had us facing many uncertainties which, quite frankly took us all on an emotional roller coaster. Mostly, the driving force had been fear. I had realized my own fear once I was able to admit being scared.

Hey, at my age and the fact I’m not in good shape, I felt I was being realistic. Since then I’ve been working through my fear and in doing so I firmly believe I can overcome it or at least keep it in check. Although, as fear is such a strong emotion that easily grips the soul, it’s taking time and patience to overcome such a grip.

Little by little I look forward to continuing to pry it away as fear continues to be replaced by courage gained from confidence that fear is just a challenge to be conquered. The great thing is that some of the challenges don’t have to be tackled alone.

Instead, collaborative efforts aligned with common goals truly exemplify the phrase, ‘strength in numbers’ and it’s that strength that ultimately conquers fear. Easier said than done? Possibly, but the alternative is being overwhelmed by fear and that, I have recognized is not living.

Possibly reading through the “Let Go” passage will help. Actually, maybe keeping it front and center every day is the answer. I guess, whatever it takes is the practical answer and especially as this is clearly a recurring scenario as evident by fear being provoked again this beautiful morning.

I don’t believe I’m alone in my thoughts. So, if you feel like you would like to talk through your fears or whatever else may be bothering you, I’d like to help. Maybe we can help each other? A collaborative effort? Strength in numbers if others would like to join in?

If interested, please drop a note to me at paul@acceler8success.com or contact me on LinkedIn. Certainly, there is no obligation and no one else needs to know!

Below are links to two articles I had published last year as we had wrapped up Mental Health Awareness Month.

Loneliness, Depression, Fear: All Contribute to Mental Health Issues

Mental Health: A Cause for Concern

“You are not giving up when you let go, you are moving on, there is a big difference.” — Catherine Pulsifer

Have a great day. Make it happen. Make it count!