Life is a journey. It starts with a childhood where you learned to interact with others on the playground and share your favorite toy. Soon, you move into young adulthood with its vast emotional attachments and desire for independence. Next, you are headed into full-blow adulthood with all the trimmings – jobs, relationships, kids, mortgages, and debt.
In each stage, you have relationships and belongings that you love and others that you no longer need. You’ve accumulated these things that take up space either physically, emotionally, or mentally. Are these things in your garage or maybe you are paying storage fees to keep? Maybe you’ve hung onto relationships or kept unhealthy mindsets and habits because you’ve kept them for years. Moving forward we will refer to relationships, belongings, habits, and mindset as “things”.
One day you find yourself old and you begin to ponder on things, people and dreams you had for your life, but have not accomplished. You wonder what stopped you, what held you back? Now you are on a quest to find the answers and clear up the clutter, so you move forward in your life and achieve your dreams!
The challenge is where do you start? What should you let go of?
The key is learning to let go of what holds you back and only keep the things that support you now as well as things that will catapult you into your future.
Learn what it means to Let Go of Things That Hold You Back The phrase is across the Internet, but what does it mean, and how can you apply it to your circumstances? What holds you back? What no longer serves you?
We must start with understanding what the term 'serve' means. Once you know that, you are in a fantastic position to release and hold only what will make a quality life.
Definition of Serve: Generally speaking, to serve is to be useful or to be of use. Your server at your favorite restaurant is of service when they bring you that delectable platter of food you've been craving.
As you look at each thing, ask yourself….
“Is this thing useful now or will it be useful in my future?”
Determining What No Longer Serves You: This looks different to everyone. Look for what makes you doubt who you are, who you want to become or what is not aligned with your goals.
Ask yourself….
“Do these things drain me mentally, emotionally, or physically?”
"Is this aligned with who I am today?
“Aligned with my goals?”
“Can this move me toward my future?”
“Will this stop me from moving forward in my life?
As you go thru this process, you might think of these things in categories:
a. Internal: This category includes your belief system, values, goals, duties, and obligations.
b. Behavioral: What habits, hobbies, commitments, or other pursuits are eating up your life?
c. Physical: These can be as simple as clutter in your home to the vacation house you never seem to use because you must work all of the time to afford it.
d. People: You might find this the most challenging category because it could mean looking at relationships. There are also the roles you hold, groups you are part of, and connections you've made.
How to Start Letting Go:
It is helpful to start with a brainstorming session.
Separate things into categories.
Go through each type and write down everything you believe has held you back and stopped serving you.
Decide the steps you need to take, i.e., donate or trash; research on the how-to’s for changing mindsets, bad habits and relationships.
Then schedule time to implement and go for it!
Keep in mind what you want in your life, what dreams to want to bring to life and the goals you want to achieve! You are on a quest to find the answers and clear up the clutter, so you move forward in your life and achieve your dreams!
If this is your time to show up for you, then commit to doing the work. Let go of the “things” (relationships, belongings, habits, and mindset) that have been held you back from moving forward toward your goals and living a life you desire.