Learning to let go

Photo by Andre Taissin on Unsplash

Are you setting yourself up for a lifetime of stress, anger, and disappointment without even knowing it? I know I was, and still tend to do so from time to time.

We all get sucked into expecting things to go the way we want them to go.

On the surface, that doesn’t seem like a bad thing. After all, who wouldn’t want things to go the way they want? The real problem is the damage we’re doing to ourselves by maintaining those expectations. We stress ourselves out without even realizing it.

What if we took the energy and effort we applied to our expectations and practiced learning to let go instead?

For example, consider how you’re approaching your day today.

What expectations do you have for how today is supposed to play out? What expectations do you have for the people around you and how do you expect them to act today?

It might be hard to verbalize your expectations, but an easy way to see them is to notice where you’re getting mad, angry, or disappointed during your day. These emotions are all signs that something didn’t go the way you expected it to. 

What if you made a change in how you approach your day today?

Try acknowledging what you want to happen — but decide not to expect it.

Suddenly, if it all works out, it’s a pleasant surprise. And if it doesn’t all work out, you might still be disappointed but it doesn’t have to derail your whole day.

Learning to let go is really the practice of not letting the actions of other people and things that are outside of your control hijack your daily well-being.

The more you practice, the better you get. The better you get, the better your life tends to become. 

Learning to let go can be the most powerful form of control you can actually apply to your own life. And the best part? It works no matter what life throws your way – you just have to keep showing up and practicing.