You Gave It Your All. Now Let It Go.
The rejection message landed in my inbox with a thud. Hours of pouring my heart and soul into this trial test job, all the effort I put in perfecting every sentence, ensuring it was my best work, all seemingly reduced to a sterile string of “Thank you for your effort,” it began, “but we’ve decided to go with someone else.”
A familiar knot of disappointment tightened in my chest.
Now, The best advice I ever received came wrapped in a moment of rejection and unexpected wisdom.
It was a lesson I learned on Upwork, a platform where freelancers from around the world compete for job opportunities.
The job posting was clear: they were looking for writers from a specific location, and it wasn’t mine.
But something inside me urged, “Go for it.” So, I did.
I crafted my proposal with care, poured my enthusiasm into every word, and hit send.
Days passed with no word, and I began to let go of any hope of hearing back.
Then, out of the blue, my inbox pinged with a new message.
My heart raced as I opened it, feeling a mix of shock and excitement.
The client wanted to give me a trial test job.
This was my chance to prove myself. I spent hours writing, perfecting every sentence, ensuring it was my best work.
But then came the message that felt like a punch to the gut. “Thank you for your effort,” it began, “but we’ve decided to go with someone else.”
My heart sank. I felt a wave of disappointment, anger, and frustration crash over me.
It wasn’t the first time, and the sting of feeling like I’d failed was sharp.
I had given it my all. Why wasn’t it enough?
As I sat there, staring at the screen, a piece of advice I once heard echoed in my mind:
“You gave it your all. Now let it go.”
That day, I learned the most valuable lesson of my life: letting go.
Those four simple words, “Now let it go,” became a mantra in the days that followed.
It wasn’t about giving up or losing interest.
It was about acknowledging the effort, accepting the outcome, and releasing the burden of what I can’t control.
It was about understanding that clinging to outcomes I couldn’t control was a prison of my own making.
As Eckhart Tolle usually emphasizes,
“When you become attached to the outcome, you become enslaved by the outcome.”
Letting go wasn’t surrender, it was liberation.
It was about releasing the grip on the illusion that I controlled the universe, and instead, focusing on what I could control — my effort, my attitude, my ability to learn and grow.
It was a reminder that sometimes, despite our best efforts, things don’t go as planned. It doesn’t mean we failed; it means we tried, we grew, and now it’s time to move on.
Letting go wasn’t easy. It was a practice, a constant tug-of-war between the need to understand “why” and the power of acceptance.
But with each deliberate release, a weight lifted.
I stopped replaying the “what ifs” in my head, the mental loops that offered no solace.
Instead, I channeled that energy into new pursuits, exploring opportunities I might have missed while fixated on the past.
And here’s the truth: letting go isn’t passive. It’s a conscious choice to trust the process, to believe that the universe has a plan, even when it doesn’t resemble the one we meticulously crafted.
It’s about making peace with the unknown, and finding the courage to step forward, lighter and more open to the possibilities that await.
As Lao Tzu advices,
“Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”
So, let go of the burdens you can’t bear.
Release the grip on the outcomes you can’t control.
You gave it your all. Now, with an open heart and a lighter spirit, step into what’s next.
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