How to Let Go of Something That No Longer Serves You

As emotional beings we’re prone to getting attached and staying attached. For us to let go of something, we need to process our feelings and develop a healthy perspective, When we do this we get unblocked and attract the abundance. (Estimated reading time: 3-4 minutes)

“The root of suffering is attachment”.

These words, accompanied by an image of Buddha in his usual calm repose, emblazoned a T-shirt that I purchased from a rustic new age store in London. I walked into this enclave, nestled in the serpentine streets of a bohemian district, on one of my visits.

I bought it on an impulse during my late teen hipster phase, not fully understanding what it meant at the time. It wasn’t until later that I understood that it alluded to the emotional struggles we experience when we’re overly attached to something or someone.

We’ve all been guilty of holding onto things much longer than necessary. No matter what your friends and family told you at the time, nothing could convince you to let go.  You were incapable of envisioning your life differently because you invested so much.

Having grappled with the experience of stepping out of situations that weren’t right for me, I’m intimately familiar with the emotional nuances associated with it. Everything seemed okay on the surface, but my deep, interior world was turbulent. My wiser self opposed the stories that I had weaved to support my choice to stay.

If you has a tough time liberating yourself from things, people, places and memories, know that what you’re going through isn’t easy. As an a emotional being you’re inclined to get attached, and stay attached.

Our caveman ancestors needed to form close bonds to their tribal community in order to ensure their survival and safety. This instinct hasn’t changed. We still associate familiarity with comfort and safety.

The entertainment industry doesn’t make it any easier with its endless supply of songs, movies and sitcoms that glamorize the pain associated with longing for something that we can’t have.

Who hasn’t indulged in a breakup playlist filled with love ballads from the likes of Adele and Mariah Carey? A guilty pleasure like this that takes us into the depth of our sorrow to swim in melancholy, can be addictive.

It turns out that there is a high cost for not letting go, especially if you know that it’s not serving your best interests. According to medical intuitive, Caroline Myss, these attachments create anchors in your psychic energy field, which essentially blocks prosperity from entering your life.

By clinging to people and situations that aren’t meant for us, you’re going against the natural, universal order, and denying change. Like breath, life is a process of letting in and letting go. It’s a pulsating rhythm that permeates everything. When we resist it, we feel pain.

The process of letting go isn’t formulaic. It’s a sacred process that’s carried out with a sense of reverence, trust, and faith. We need to honor our feelings and the mysterious journey of life. We need insight to realize that the act of detachment builds character, and cultivates emotional stamina.

Here are three basic steps that you can use as a guide while you let go of something that isn’t serving you:

1. Process your emotions in a healthy way: The process of letting go begins with coming to terms our feelings about what we’re leaving behind. The most common emotions that people experience are sadness, distress, worry, insecurity and anxiety. These are heavy-duty emotions that shouldn’t be ignored. We need to find healthy ways of processing them so that we don’t lose ourselves while grieving.

2. Change your perspective on the situation: Once you’re able to shed some light on your own emotional state, you’ll have the objectivity to develop a more positive perspective on what you’re going through. Read books, and watching movies with stories that you can relate to. Take a look at events from a higher and symbolic perspective by connecting the dots.

3. Lighten up and get out there: After you’ve done the inner work, you’ll find that your load becomes lighter. You’ll become a magnet that attracts people, objects, and events that resonate with your persona and your values. Synchronicities and coincidences will draw in exciting opportunities for better and healthier circumstances to materialize in your life.

Keep in mind that grieving the loss of something, or someone, is rarely a linear process with a predictable timeline. There will be spells of sadness that might creep up, but with time it becomes less frequent and intense.

As you begin engaging with new energies in your life, you’ll be convinced that life does not end after you let go. Instead, it transforms you and offers the gift of new experiences, people and things. In the cycles of letting go and starting anew, you will find yourself.

All my best on your journey,

Seline

Question: Do you have a tough time letting go of something that no longer serves you? What do you find challenging in these situations?

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