I know that I originally promised that I would give you guys an update on the letting go challenge every 7 days, but I later realized that I’d be making too many posts in a short time period. Instead, I’m giving you guys a mid-challenge update.
The letting go challenge has been a smashing success thus far. Learning how to let go of everything and remain at peace with myself has been absolutely integral to my survival over the past couple of weeks, as school and work commitments have been piling up. Luckily, I’ve been up to the task, and have been getting everything done with the utmost quality and the least amount of internal resistance possible. I’m thrilled that one simple shift like deciding to let go, all the time, has affected my life so much.
Lessons Learned
1. Just doing something dissolves all resistance associated with it: Just do it is Nike’s slogan for a reason – it’s a great way to let go of all the resistance that we get whenever we have to do something we don’t want to. Letting go of the resistance, then, allows you to do it freely without any internal resistance. It’s awesome. To become free of your anxiety of doing something, just do it. You’ll thank me later.
2. Peace can be found everywhere – if you slow down: The times when I’ve felt my best were when I just slowed down, let go of the thoughts and feeling I had, and just observed everything in the present moment. It’s very freeing, and we can do it anywhere if we just have the presence of mind to slow down time (in our minds) and learn to immerse ourselves in the moment. Teaching myself to let go has made me do this much more often – even when I was in situations that made me anxious or feel bad. Slowing down and focusing on my breathing, combined with my techniques for letting go, are simple and effective ways to find this inner peace in every moment.
3. Our biggest problems aren’t in the world – but are, instead, in our minds: In letting go, I’ve come to find out that most of the things that generate resistance in my mind are just my thoughts, not anything that’s happened in the outside world. That is, my problems aren’t things themselves, but my mind’s interpretation of them. Essentially, my ego is responsible for all of the negativity I experience, not the “world”. I knew this distinction before, but it’s made itself much more clear during the course of the challenge.
4. Being open and nonjudgmental makes others be their best selves: Put another way: let people surprise you. By letting go of my judgmental thoughts and allowing other people to be themselves instead of forcing them to conform to my expectations, they’ve surprised me by being much more open and expressive (and, of course, happier) around me. It’s a very pleasant surprise when this happens. If you let go of all the thoughts that float around your head and give people the room to be themselves, they will – and they’ll thank you for it (only to themselves, of course).
5. Focusing and getting things done is much, much easier: This follows from number 1. During the letting go challenge, I’ve let go of all the resistance that prevents me from focusing and getting things done. The end result is that I’m focusing on my work a lot more and getting work done much faster than I normally would. Silencing the voices in my head and allowing my emotional state to change as it wills – essentially “freeing” up my entire being – has been very effective.
Start the Challenge Now!
With another 15 days left and the benefits to letting go that I outlined above, you’d be foolish not to at least make an attempt at completing the challenge. It’s been a wonderful way to improve the quality of my life, and I think you, my readers, would enjoy the results very much if you tried.
Breathe in and out.
And just begin to let go of everything you’re feeling and thinking. All you have to do is that for the remainder of the next 15 days. That’s not so hard, is it?