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

We hold on to things because they’re important to us. When circumstances involving them change, we have difficulty making adjustments. Emotionally, we’re unable to accept the new state of affairs.

Letting go begins with accepting our new circumstances. Rather than clinging to a past we desperately want to reclaim, we embrace reality. We commit to no longer dwell on the past. We detach ourself from circumstances over which we have minimal influence.

The proper way to let go involves recognizing our negative thoughts and emotions, determining why we’re experiencing them, and moving from the denial and bargaining stages to the acceptance stage of grief.

We often hold on to negative emotions and unpleasant memories because we dread the possibility that we’ll miss out on potential positive experiences associated with them.

We fear losing out on something that might happen. Unfortunately, this anxiety causes us to perpetuate our suffering by staying emotionally attached to things that make us unhappy.

Second, while focusing on the negative, the mind tends to overlook the positive.

When we feel miserable about something we’re having difficulty letting go, it’s common to isolate ourself and wallow in our misery. Our brain fixates on the source of our emotional pain, and other activities get sidelined by this fixation. We can’t imagine doing something that gives us joy while we feel this way.

But in order to let go of the pain, we have to confront it head on. We have to face it without distraction. Only then can we release it, grieve when necessary, and move on with our life.