Moving Forward by “Letting go”
Moving forward by letting go is sometimes necessary in order to continue working on your goals and dreams. It can be defined as choosing to release patterns of thought, negative behaviours, habits, limited beliefs, or anything that prevents you from participating in life fully, or making progress on what you are trying to achieve in your life both personally and professionally.
Stuck in a Rut
There maybe times when you feel that progress has come to a grinding halt, and you are not moving forward as much as you would like. It is possible that you may not even know what keeps you stuck in a rut.
Energies are high late December and the beginning of January. People are bursting with enthusiasm, positivity, hope, and intentions while planning the year ahead. Why do we get stuck in moving forward?
No Enthusiasm
There are many tools to use to stay motivated. Some people find Vision Boards, mind mapping and affirmations very helpful in staying on track. However there may be deeper reasons in why energy wanes, and less and less action is taken in working on goals and dreams.
In order to keep moving forward, it is necessary to identify and let go of what may be holding you back.
5 Ways to Get Moving Again
1. Have a good Clutter Clear
Getting rid of things you no longer need allows fresh energy to flow into your life. This may be objects, situations and sometimes people.
Take a look in your wardrobe. How many outfits are hanging there that you have not worn in the past year? How many items do you no longer like or need? Why not bag them up and take them to the Charity shop or sell them online. Do you really need the mini skirt you wore 10 years ago? “just in case”.
If you have objects in your home that you dislike, give them away to someone who will appreciate them more than you. Do you have papers, books strewn everywhere? Buy some pretty boxes and labels and get organised. A tidy organized environment is generally a more peaceful one.
Are there people in your life that are holding you back from moving forward by putting you down, or belittling you in some way? Is it possible that you could limit your time with these people, or in fact consider whether you need them in your life anyway?
2. Letting go of Grudges and Resentment
Both of these are damaging for your overall emotional health and wellbeing. The energy attached to these feelings is draining. Time spent sitting in resentment or seething with grudges will rob you of focusing your attention in a happier, productive way.
It is impossible to feel an ongoing feeling of positivity when holding onto resentment and will certainly slow your progress on moving forward.
Life happens, people behave in hurtful ways. Maybe you have experienced disappointment and betrayal. You cannot change the events that have happened in your life, but you can change how you choose to respond to it.
3. Letting go of Social Media Addiction
Our lives are surrounded by digital technology. Of course there are advantages and disadvantages to this. Some people admit to being “addicted??? to Social Media and find themselves getting lost for hours in the Facebook Newsfeed, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and other apps.
If you find yourself spending excessive time on Social Media, ask yourself if what you are choosing to do with your time is getting you closer to where you want to be in terms of your goals?
Is it bringing you joy and happiness? Do you feel fabulous when you come off Social Media? Your answers will give you clues as to some changes you may need to make to your life.
Perhaps it may be time to let go of the amount of time spent on your devices. Allocate specific time limits and stick to them.
Reconnect with nature again. Go out for a walk in the fresh air. Connect with real people. Join interest groups where you meet people face to face and socialise outside of the home and away from the screen.
If you are an entrepreneur or working on aspects of your business, do other business building activities that don’t involve technology. There is also business to be found offline as well as online. How will you know if you don’t try?
4. Switch off the TV
Are you careful about what you are exposing your mind to? Do you find yourself watching TV programmes that are adding no value to your life? Is there something better you could do with your time that would helpful in moving you forward?
Choosing to switch off the TV can free up huge pockets of time if you are an avid TV watcher.
Life passes very quickly. Why waste precious moments sitting for hours in front of a TV? Why not watch something that feeds your soul, nourishes your mind, or inspires you in some way. What you feed your mind is as important as what you feed your body.
Use the extra time created to study something you have always wanted to learn. Exercise more, see a friend, take up a hobby. Do things that gives you pleasure and an element of personal growth and development.
5. Let Go of Grief and Sadness
This can be hard for many people. The loss of a loved one leaves a big empty void which can be intensely painful.
It is a personal choice whether to view the death of a loved one as a celebration of a life well lived (for adults) or to choose to sit in pain and sadness for the rest of your life.
What would your loved one want you to do? In most cases, they would want you to continue to live your life and to be happy as much as you can be.
How do we let go of sadness and pain? Is this something that is part of the School Curriculum? Is this something we have been taught how to do? The answer to both questions is NO. Those tools are not in our toolbox of life.
Fortunately, as a trained Grief Recovery Specialist I was able to help myself through the loss of my parents and also help others to deal with their loss. Many others may end up burying or suppressing emotions that will indeed pop up later.
How we respond to grief generally is what we may have observed from our own parents and therefore emulate what they did and said when they went through similar.
To continue enjoying life to to the full we must keep moving forward. There are some that find it extremely difficult to let go and instead choose to live in the past or to sit in their grief. There is no growth in this behaviour. If you feel that you are unable to participate fully in your life through holding onto the above emotions, seek out professional support to enable you to move on with your life.
Looking for Lessons
Looking for the lessons in any challenges in life may help to fan the flames of inspiration. Focusing on solutions rather than problems will help you to keep moving forward.
Today I am Grateful For…
At the end of each day, why not write a gratefulness list of all the good things that have happened to you during the day. The small things are just as important as the big things. Read it regularly.
Every day is an opportunity to start again. Don’t carry over negative thoughts or feelings into the next day. Instead why not wake up with a smile, announce that “this is a new day, and intend to make it a happy one???.
Intention infused with happiness is a very powerful force indeed.
