The Art of Letting Go

Second post. Here we go!

So there I was, minding my own business, and I could not help but overhear someone talk about how tired they are with everything in their life, yet they seem so happy about being tired. It seems to me that we are in a culture where exhaustion and productivity are greatly valued over anything related to self.

Sound relatable?

Growing up being educated by Augustinians, I was introduced to the value of interiority — it’s a fancy term for self-reflection and finding your own truth, and quite often do I look back to my previous jobs and think of the impact I have made and how this gives me a sense of how productive I am as a good citizen, which becomes a measure of my own self-worth. In analyzing and re-analyzing this (Yes, I often suffer from paralysis by analysis — trust me!), I really had to work through what productivity means to me, and why I see impact as a measure of self-worth. There were some things I let go of as constructs in my life that I equated as things that make me feel important and valuable because from hindsight, this got in the way of my staying present and being vulnerable and authentic with people I enjoy being with.

I quickly surveyed on my social media what “Letting Go” means for people (shoutout to my impromptu Instagram respondents!), and the responses I received ranged from relief to ambivalence between multiple emotions, and quite frankly, these are all valid and true. The mix of emotions and the disturbances they cause within us is the hidden work that we all navigate but no one sees.

For me, “letting go” takes on a variety of contexts such as letting go of power and/or control, letting go of relationships, letting go of the past and letting go of my preconceived notions. That last one is incredibly hard to do, in my opinion, but a work in progress nonetheless. I will share this though: letting go is an art that takes time to master, but when we reach that threshold, we learn to release things, ideas and relationships that no longer serve us, and we become better at being present and truly enjoying each moment for what they are. There is a sense of freedom (and control) that this comes with.

So what was the point of all of this? There are moments in our respective lives where letting go serves its purpose whatever that may be.

How can the action of letting go serve you to show up more in your personal and/or professional lives?

Alexa, play Art of Letting You Go by Tori Kelly.

Let’s talk. :)