The Art of Letting GO: How to Let Go of the Past, Look Forward to the Future, and Finally Enjoy the Emotional Freedom You Deserve! (The Art Of Living Well Book 2)

by Damon Zahariades

One quick note: what gives us purpose today may be different tomorrow. That’s fine. In fact, it’s to be expected. We

Question #1: “What makes me happy?”

Question #2: “What moves me?”

Question #3: “What am I good at?”

Question #4: “What are my biggest fears?”

Question #5: “If I knew I was going to pass away in five years, how would I spend my remaining time?”

Question #6: “Who would I like to be 10 years from today?”

Question #7: “If I look back on my life near its end, how would I imagine having lived it successfully?”

In the process, it sheds light on our troubling memories and bleak thoughts, urging us to accept they may be pointless and thus suitable to let go.

As long as you are unable to access the power of the Now, every emotional pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain that lives on in you. ECKHART TOLLE

Only then can we release it, grieve when necessary, and move on with our life.

When we experience mental suffering, we sometimes respond to it by shutting off our emotions.

We rob ourself of the opportunity to express and release the negative feelings we experience.

Rather than avoid our emotional misery, we must embrace it. We should be willing to admit we’re feeling the way we feel, accept it as authentic and valid, and let it in.

This is how we let it go, heal, forgive, repair our self-worth, and move on.

In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself. DEEPAK CHOPRA

Regrets are an inescapable part of life.

haven’t discerned its lesson. Yet.

Our mistakes present terrific learning opportunities. When we’re willing to examine them, they help us to identify our activities, behaviors, and decisions that resulted in undesirable outcomes.

Examining our regrets, looking for any lessons they offer us, is often the ...

Instead of continually thinking “life stinks,” we imagine the positive changes we can make thanks to our improved awareness.

Now, in shifting our mindset, we proactively search for teachable moments. We look for lessons in our misfortune, sorrow, and distress through which we can grow.

application. If we train ourself to consistently look for enlightenment in things that evoke our negative emotions, the practice will eventually become second nature to us.

Think about something you’re struggling to let go.

“Why do I feel regret over this?”

First, it helps us to separate things we have control over from those we don’t. If we lack control, there’s no reason to blame ourself.

“What was I trying to accomplish?”

“What can I learn from this experience?”

Embrace the glorious mess that you are. ELIZABETH GILBERT

We aspire to be better.

That’s part of the human condition. It’s an honorable intention and plays an important role in our continual growth.

Our intention to be better is accompanied by the awareness that we’re not currently the person we believe we should be. Our present self has fallen short of our ideal self in some way.

We castigate ourself because we believe we’ve failed to “measure up.”

We become fixated on things that “should have been” rather than accepting the present, surrendering what we can’t control, and moving on.

As long as we cling to the fantasy, we prevent ourself from coming to terms with our real self.

Write down the heading “My Values” and list every personal value you consider to be important.

“My Interests.”

“Areas That Deserve More of My Time.”

Write down values you currently hold dear that you feel need more attention. List your interests and passions that you’ve placed on the back burner.

This exercise encourages us to focus on our present self rather than fixa...

We sometimes mistake pride for self-esteem and self-confidence.

But pride flirts with the dark side of our ego.

It turns into a stumbling block that negatively impacts our relationships, careers, and decisions.

Unchallenged, pride also discourages us from letting go the things that haunt us.

We habitually compare ourself to others to measure our self-worth, and obsess over keeping up with them.

But like our aspiration to be better, it’s a double-edge sword. It courts egotism and narcissism.

To be clear, surrendering our pride doesn’t mean that we abandon our self-respect.

we simply recognize our fallibility.

while acknowledging that we’re human and thus capable of doing things, saying things, and feeling thin...

“Things for Which I’m Proud of Myself.”