7 Tips for Letting Go and Moving On

Many people struggle with feeling obligated, guilty, burdened, trapped and or heavy. It feels as though they are walking around with a huge sack of rocks on their back. The truth of the matter is, you are always changing. The universe around you is always changing and if you are going to keep up with those changes, there are deliberate things you must do in order to shift and grow.

Sometimes the lifestyle you are living no longer fits. Or you might feel that the people around you and the routines you are used to no longer align with your values. Perhaps you are living excessively in the past or holding on to some old grudge. Maybe your needs have changed and you are no longer learning anything new. Something that might have been right for you in the past may not necessarily be right for you in the current moment. If you are going to grow and evolve, you must be willing to realize that you are changing and wanting and needing change. The hardest part can sometimes be accepting your new truth. But before you do this, you must LET GO.

Doing the work of letting go means you are taking a look at what patterns and things in your life are becoming unbearable. This is the best time identify what is trying to crack away and separate to allow our newer self to emerge. You see, this is required so that you can shine!

If you have beliefs, expectations and limitations burdening you (weighing you down like heavy stones), you will never be able to truly live in your gifts.

What do you need to let go of?

Are you trying really hard to work at something?

Most of the relationships we are in are designed to help us shed the beliefs and identities that we do not align with. The relationships (whether it be with friends, family or lovers) where you feel most frustration are where you will be breaking out of those patterns. It is the butterfly breaking out of the cocoon. A lot of times, we think those people are in our way to keep us from our path, but really, they are there to assist us! Our patterns surface so that we are forced to examine them, and it is only when we start to LISTEN to the patterns, WORK with them and then RELEASE them that we are able to make the lens of perception clear.

How do you work with them?

First let me tell you a story about a gentleman that was struggling with his career.

A friend of mine was feeling anxious and knew that he needed some change. He had committed himself to taking many healing classes and had a goal of finishing up as soon as possible. As soon as our session started, two things came through very quickly, “do less” and “ask for support.” Not only was he feeling overwhelmed by all the classes he was taking, but he was also missing his family and spending time with them. Family happened to be one of his highest priorities, and he was overlooking this for the sake of his goal.

He spoke to his wife about feeling overwhelmed and thought this meant he might need to quit completely. But this wasn’t the case! He wife recognized his passion for alte
ative medicine and knew he had a goal to help people and teach one day. She suggested that he simply take less classes. He took her advice, cut back on classes, spent more time with family, and then BOOM, within 6 months, he was feeling balanced, happy and fulfilled. He was even asked to teach for the upcoming summer! All he had to do was learn to LET GO of the belief that he had to get it all done now in order to feel happiness.

Letting go of beliefs that we have about goals can sometimes be hard, but if it is compromising your values and priorities, then it makes the decision to let go much easier. The beliefs you are clinging to could be keeping you stuck in a situation that really isn’t you. When you free yourself of those beliefs and use the things that are important to you as a guiding light, then you allow yourself to nourish your well-being and to grow exponentially.

Here are some simple, yet effective ways to let go and move on!

1) Accept your truth- and be thankful for experiences that help to guide you there! Where else would you be without life experience? The only way you can possibly know what you ARE NOT about is by living life and trying things out! When you feel that anxious feeling, that’s your sign that change is a comin’!

2) Have no expectations- Don’t beat yourself up for trying things when they don’t work out. Having high expectations and judging and criticizing yourself will only make you feel worse, and it could possibly cause you to have more fear to try things in the future. Having the attitude of acceptance of will allow you to FIND THE STRENGTH TO EMBRACE LIFE CHANGES!

3) Get some distance- taking some time out or distancing yourself from your current situation can help you gain clarity. In most cases, when you keep doing the same thing that you’ve been doing all along, you are not able to initiate that much needed change. You might need to take a break from a relationship to allow yourself to hear your own thoughts and guidance. Often, people who are trying to control the situation or living in fear will really lash out at you for doing this. But if you are going to get any real answers, taking a time out is something to try.

4) Turn attention inwards- and focus on only those things that can be changed. You have free will and you get to make all the choices here! If you are always looking outside of yourself to figure out how you fit in or how you can make an impact, you’ll always be satisfying everyone else. Basically, the easiest way to gain clarity is to take a quick review of who you already are, the lifestyle you are already choosing to live, and what makes you feel happy and alive. Then simply take steps to nurture those things and make little positive adjustments.

5) Listen to your heart- When you turn inwards, you’ll often find that there is a moment in which you realize that you have been disregarding your own wants and needs for quite some time. The truth of the matter is no one else is responsible for you. It’s very easy, and it’s often the tendency that we blame everyone else for our situation, our parents, friends, teachers, coworkers, the education system, our government, etc. And we hardly ever point the finger back at ourselves. Well, guess what? We have been blessed with free will and that means if you want to make a change, it’s up to you. If you feel anxious in your current situation, it’s probably time to LET GO and move on. You are the only person who can make this happen.

6) Focus only on those things that can be changed. It’s important to live and allow yourself some freedom to try things and make mistakes. Pick one thing to change at a time and give it your complete focus. As I started to shift towards a more healthy diet, for example, I started with adding an apple a day to my routine. That was a simple shift that I could add to my day. Slowly, as I felt my stomach improve, I started to focus on adding more vegetables. If you hit a brick wall with making a change, for instance if you stumble upon something that you just cannot change in the current moment, you might want to try changing the way you think about it. One of my favorite phrases is, THOUGHTS ARE PRAYERS. If you think something, most likely, you are making it a reality.

7) When an opportunity presents itself, be prepared to TAKE A CHANCE! There’s no point in denying WHO YOU ARE and being fearful of the next step. When you have clarity about who you are and what your values are, it will make the decision making process that much easier. You will find yourself moving forward without hesitation much faster. Life often presents us with challenges to help guide us toward our truth. These challenges allow us to test our courage and willingness to make positive changes. Focus on what you can change in the moment and set aside any worries about the past or the future. Take things step by step; always baby steps. As you allow yourself to keep moving forward in a positive way, you will start to feel the momentum of your spirit, and at some point you will find yourself moving forward with break-neck speed, hardly even looking back.